There's lots of celebration here
in Eugene, Oregon – as well as around the country – that golfer Casey Martin is
back at the men's U.S. Open. Casey grew up in Eugene and is the University of
Oregon men's golf coach.
We followed his legal challenge
to the PGA for the right to use a golf cart under the American with
Disabilities Act. Harriet attended the court hearings all day, every day, when
the case was heard in Eugene, the first legal step before eventually being upheld
by the Supreme Court.
The trial proved to be a
wonderful activity for researching hierarchies. Perched on top of their
hierarchy, the PGA lawyers and officials, all white men dressed alike in their
similar lawyer suits, could not hear or understand much that Casey and his
female lawyer were saying. The PGA acted as if they didn't have to listen, and
they had the right to make the rules, no matter who suffered from them. Harriet
best described the scene as ships passing in the night.
