As the JAL Big Apple Classic takes place this weekend in New
Rochelle, NY, the New York media has turned its attention to the
LPGA. Columns in today's N.Y. TIMES and N.Y. POST offer
contrasting views on outgoing LPGA Commissioner Charles Mechem.
N.Y. TIMES: Mechem's view of the Ben Wright episode is
summed up with -- "Exposure, that's what we need most." Columnist
Robert Lipsyte calls Mechem's handling of the incident "a model
of damage control," adding that the LPGA got "desperately needed
ink and air time from the incident." Lipsyte also notes Mechem's
initial trouble with sponsors, whose assumptions made it
impossible for him to sell a piece of the game. Mechem: "I wish
every male in the decision-making chain could experience the
frustration and puzzlement I've encountered, the reality of
discrimination that exists in women's issues" (N.Y. TIMES, 7/21)
N.Y. POST: Phil Mushnick's "Equal Time" column opens, "The
1995 Reggie Jackson Award for Phoniness in the Name of Protecting
Sports goes to Charles S. Mechem, Jr., the soon-to-retire
commissioner of the LPGA." Mushnick calls photo layouts of
several players in the LPGA's "Fairway Magazine," an "absurd,
insulting and poorly disguised attempt to promote sexuality"
(N.Y. POST, 7/21).
