Carolyn Bivens (born December 29, 1952 in Oklahoma City, Oklahoma) was the commissioner of the LPGA from 2005 until her resignation on July 13, 2009. She was the seventh person and the first woman to hold the position of Commissioner in the 55-year history of the LPGA.
Bivens was previously president and chief operating officer of Initiative Media North America, the largest media services agency in the United States and part of the Interpublic Group of Companies. She also worked at USA Today, where she led the worldwide advertising operations for USA Today and USA Today’s international edition. In 2002, Electronic Media magazine named Bivens one of the most powerful women in television.
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Controversies
Bivens' tenure as LPGA commissioner was controversial.
Media credential policy change
Before the first tournament of 2006, The Fields Open in Hawaii, Bivens imposed new language in the media credential contracts giving the LPGA free rights to all photos and stories created at its events. In response, the two Honolulu newspapers, the Associated Press, Sports Illustrated, Golf World and other publications refused to cover the first round of the tournament. It took several tournaments before the wording was adjusted and full coverage resumed.[1]
English proficiency requirement
In August 2008 under Bivens' tenure, the LGPA instituted a policy requiring all players to speak English by 2009 or face suspension.[2] The Tour held a mandatory meeting with South Korean players only without giving a written explanation for the policy. No details regarding how players' English proficiency will be evaluated are available. In addition, LPGA has not indicated that it will provide education or classes for those players who do not meet its English-proficiency requirement. Shortly after the announcement, LPGA reversed its position on this mandatory requirement after receiving much negative feedback including possible a lawsuit for discrimination.
On May 28, 2009, Bivens was quoted in an interview with Bloomberg News that "I'd love it if players Twittered during the middle of a round".[3] The idea that players would use the social media site Twitter in the middle of their playing rounds was met with universal disdain, including from the players themselves. Paula Creamer and Morgan Pressel who regularly use Twitter to communicate with fans issued statements at the start of the next tournament on June 4 that, "will not be twittering in my round. It should not happen in any sport. The players have already told the tour no way." (Creamer) and "NO I will not be tweeting while I play." (Pressel).[4] The same day, former LPGA champion and current television golf analyst Dottie Pepper was quoted saying, "Twitter on the course is "absurd, absolutely absurd."[5] On June 5, 2009, eight days after Bivens' original statement in the media, the LPGA issued a statement on the front page its website claiming Bivens was quoted out of context:[6]
Last week, Commissioner Bivens sat down with Bloomberg in NYC to discuss a variety of topics relating to the LPGA. Here is the latest from Bivens regarding her comments about Twitter:
“Comments that I made in a conversation with a writer last week regarding the importance of social media and tweeting have been taken out of context. We have not discussed tweeting or the use of handheld devices during tournament rounds with the USGA, or even within the LPGA, nor do we intend to. Our players will not be tweeting during the rounds of LPGA events.”
References
- ^ Sirak, Ron (2006-06-25). "Is the LPGA a house divided?". Golf World. http://sports.espn.go.com/golf/columns/story?columnist=sirak_ron&id=2500085. Retrieved 2009-07-18.
- ^ Associated Press (2008-08-26). "PGA will require players to speak English starting in 2009". Golf.com. http://www.golf.com/golf/tours_news/article/0,28136,1836145,00.html. Retrieved 2009-07-18.
- ^ "Bivens 'encourages' in-round updates". ESPN.com. 2009-05-28. http://sports.espn.go.com/golf/news/story?id=4212597. Retrieved 2009-07-18.
- ^ http://www3.signonsandiego.com/weblogs/tod-leonards-golf-blog/2009/jun/05/lpga-twitter-goes-thunk/
- ^ http://www.sportsbusinessdaily.com/index.cfm?fuseaction=sbd.main&ArticleID=130734
- ^ http://www.lpga.com/content_1.aspx?pid=20156&mid=4
External links
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