INCLUSION DAILY EXPRESS -- Casey Martin

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Casey Martin, Golf and the ADA

Background: Casey Martin is a professional golfer who has disability, called Klippel-Trenaunay-Weber syndrome, which makes it painful and dangerous for him to walk the long distances the PGA Tour requires during tournaments. He asked for and was denied the use of a motorized cart to move about the course as a work place accommodation under the Americans with Disabilities Act.

Martin sued the PGA Tour in 1997. The case went all the way to the U.S. Supreme Court where, on May 29, 2001, it was ruled that Martin was in the right.

"The act (ADA) is intended to allow Americans to participate, and that is what the court has given Casey – not an advantage, but the right to participate."
--Attorney Roy L. Reardon, responding to the U.S. Supreme Court ruling confirming that his client, professional golfer Casey Martin, must be allowed to use a golf cart during PGA tournaments

2006
May 10: Oregon Tabs Casey Martin to Lead Men’s Golf Program
2005
Nov 4: Casey Martin Retires From Pro Golf
2001
Aug 13: Auto Racer Inspired By Casey Martin
Aug 3: Golf Groups Form Disability Alliance
July 13: Golf Association Tells Caddy He Can't Have A Cart
June 21: Boy Banned From Golf Group Because Of His Autism
May 31: Reactions to Casey Martin Decision Vary
May 29: Supreme Court Sides with Casey Martin
Jan 24: Look Out PGA, Here Comes Pat McDonald

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Look Out PGA, Here Comes Pat McDonald
January 24, 2001
WASHINGTON, DC AND SACRAMENTO, CALIFORNIA--Casey Martin has been the focus of disability rights advocates and the Professional Golfers Association (PGA) for the last three years. The professional golfer, whose disability makes it dangerous for him to walk the long distances the PGA requires during tournaments, wants to use a motorized cart to move about the course. He has been asking for a work place accommodation under the Americans with Disabilities Act.

The PGA says the fatigue a golfer experiences walking the sometimes 20-mile distances is an important factor in a tournament, and that giving Martin permission to use a cart would give him an unfair advantage. The organization so strongly opposes Martin that it has fought him all the way to the U.S. Supreme Court. Arguments in the case were heard last week. A decision is expected toward summer.

Nearly three dozen disability groups have filed court briefs supporting Martin in the case, according to this item from last Thursday's Washington Post:
http://washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/nation/courts/A7140-2001Jan17.html

In California, another avid and up-and-coming professional golfer says he will soon be giving Martin and the likes of Tiger Woods a run for their money.

Pat McDonald, who uses a wheelchair, is watching the Martin case very closely.

"He's legally disabled," McDonald says of Martin. "Let the man play."

"What are they going to say when I get there? Because I will get there."

The Sacramento Bee ran this story on McDonald:
http://www.sacbee.com/sports/news/sports01_20010123.html

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Supreme Court Sides with Casey Martin
By Dave Reynolds, Inclusion Daily Express
May 29, 2001

WASHINGTON, DC--The U.S. Supreme Court today ruled that the PGA Tour must allow professional golfer Casey Martin to use a golf cart during tournaments, as a reasonable accommodation under the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA).

Martin, 28, has Klippel-Trenaunay-Weber Syndrome, a condition which restricts blood flow and makes it painful and even dangerous for him to walk the entire length of an 18-hole golf course. He sued the PGA Tour in 1997 when the association would not allow him to use a cart. The PGA claimed that allowing Martin to use a cart would give him an unfair advantage over other players, because the fatigue golfers experience from walking is a factor in how well they play.

In a 7-2 vote, the high court disagreed with the PGA Tour. In the opinion for the majority, Justice John Paul Stevens wrote, "Pure chance may have a greater impact on the outcome of elite golf tournaments than the fatigue resulting from the enforcement of the walking rule."

The decision reinforces the ADA provisions requiring employers to provide reasonable accommodations for workers who have or acquire disabilities.

The Washington Post reported that during a press conference this afternoon, PGA Commissioner Tim Finchem said he called Martin to congratulate him. "We are pleased for him, as we have been from the start," Finchem said. "You have to be a Casey Martin fan and wish him the best."

Finchem added that PGA officials believe the court's decision was focused on Martin and Martin alone.

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Reactions to Casey Martin Decision Vary
By Dave Reynolds, Inclusion Daily Express
May 31, 2001

UNITED STATES--On Tuesday, the U.S. Supreme Court ruled that the PGA Tour must allow 28-year-old golfer Casey Martin to use a golf cart during professional tournaments as a reasonable accommodation. Martin has Klippel-Trenaunay-Weber syndrome, a condition which restricts blood flow and makes it painful for him to walk. The condition also could result in his leg having to be amputated.

Reactions from the media has been varied. Here is a quick sample:

"Ruling May Be Inspiration For Disabled" (Sacramento Bee):
"This is about access in a sport moving from exclusion to inclusion. And if golf wants to continue to grow, it must open its doors wider to players with disabilities."
http://www.sacbee.com/sports/news/sports03_20010530.html

"Hooray For Casey Martin" (Associated Press):
"Nothing against Casey, everyone was saying.
Some, however, also were saying that riding a cart gives a golfer an advantage. Besides, the he-men on the PGA Tour walk.
Walk!
It's made to sound as if these "athletes" are scaling mountains with golf bags on their backs. . . If stamina is so important in determining the outcome of a tournament, why not have these rugged individualists carry their own bags?"
http://www2.startribune.com/stOnLine/cgi-bin/article?thisStory=84273247

"The PGA Goes Down Swinging" (Washington Post):
"An athlete capable of playing golf at an elite level, yet disabled enough to keep him from complying with one relatively marginal rule of play, is a rare phenomenon; an accommodation would hardly have compromised any sacred principle.
The PGA Tour, however, chose to provoke a needless confrontation, forcing the Supreme Court to answer what Justice Antonin Scalia called the "incredibly difficult and incredibly silly question" of whether "someone riding around a golf course from shot to shot [is] really a golfer."
http://washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/articles/A339-2001May31.html

"Court Was Right, But Who Will Ride In Martin's Cart?" (Toledo Blade):
"The PGA Tour entered this fight, and lost it, with some legitimate concerns. Constitutional scholars followed it with legitimate interest as the scope of the ADA was further clarified."
"But face it, there was never any serious question who would win. The Supreme Court was not going to author a majority decision that would be interpreted as slamming a door in the face of disabled Americans."
http://www.InclusionDaily.com/news/red/0531a.htm

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Boy Banned From Golf Group Because Of His Autism
June 12, 2001

ZEPHYRHILLS, FLORIDA--"If we make an exception, we are undermining the integrity of the competition."

If you think this sounds an awful lot like the unsuccessful argument made by the PGA-Tour against allowing Casey Martin to use a golf cart, you're right.

But, this statement was actually made a week after the U.S. Supreme Court's decision saying the PGA must let Martin ride a cart during tournaments.

The statement came from Brian Code, president of the Greater Tampa Junior Golf Association (GTJGA), who has decided not to allow a 9-year-old boy with autism to participate this year because he cannot keep his score and the scores of his competitors.

Matthew Ross loves the game of golf and is considered an above average golfer for his age. Last year, his mother helped him out by keeping score for him. She wanted to do that again this year, but the GTJGA board has said that would create an "unfair advantage" for the boy.

"If we grant a waiver, you will have another parent step forward and say he wants us to help their child because he has an attention deficit disorder or a panic disorder," said Mr. Code. "I have no idea where this would stop."

Sound familiar?

Here is the story from Tampa Bay Online. The RealAudio news clip will probably start playing immediately. Click on the link entitled "Fighting for the right to play" for another story's text:
http://multimedia.tbo.com/multimedia/MGAD8G7NNNC.html

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Golf Association Tells Caddy He Can't Have A Cart
By Dave Reynolds, Inclusion Daily Express
July 13, 2001

FAR HILLS, NEW JERSEY--On May 29, the U.S. Supreme Court ruled 7-2 that the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA) protects professional golfer Casey Martin's right to use a golf cart during Professional Golfers' Association (PGA) tournaments. The cart is considered a reasonable work accommodation for Martin, whose painful medical condition keeps him from walking the distance of an entire course.

Just six weeks later, the U.S. Golf Association (USGA), which monitors the rules of golf for amateurs and professionals, is refusing to allow a caddie who has cerebral palsy to use a golf cart.

Lee Penterman, 38, is a friend of amateur golfer Ben Flam who is competing in the U.S. Amateur Public Links Championship this week in San Antonio, Texas. Penterman is Flam's caddie, which means that he assists Flam and carries his golf clubs and bag.

"I think the ruling was unjust," Flam told the Associated Press on Tuesday. "He has a disability. It's like not giving a wheelchair to someone to get up a ramp."

USGA officials sounded much like the PGA officials did prior to the Martin ruling.

"At our championships, we don't allow the use of a cart for caddies or spectators," explained USGA spokesman Marty Parkes.

"We were concerned about the precedent this might set. If we provide a cart to one person (caddie), it's conceivable there could be a lot of carts out there."

Penterman seems to be taking the decision more in stride than his friend. He considered filing a court injunction, but decided against it, at least for this week.

He may challenge the association's decision later on, however. Flam plans on becoming a professional golfer and would like to have his friend by his side.

Detroit News columnist Pete Waldmeir on Wednesday criticized as "cruel" the actions of both the PGA's "pooh-bahs" and the USGA's "big shots":
http://detnews.com/2001/metro/0107/11/c01-246081.htm

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Golf Groups Form Disability Alliance
By Dave Reynolds, Inclusion Daily Express
August 3, 2001

INDIANAPOLIS, INDIANA--Representatives from the major golf associations this week agreed to work together to make the sport more accessible to people with disabilities and to promote their participation in the sport.

The National Alliance for Accessible Golf is to be headed by Gary Robb, an associate professor in the department of Health, Physical Education and Recreation at Indiana University, who says he has been working with the groups on accessibility for the last 10 years.

The alliance will include the PGA Tour, which recently lost a U.S. Supreme Court case in which it fought to deny professional golfer Casey Martin the use of a motorized golf cart, on the argument that it would give him an advantage over his competitors who had to walk entire courses during tournaments. The high court ruled that Martin, whose disability makes it painful and even dangerous to walk long distances, should be allowed to use the cart as a reasonable accommodation under the Americans with Disabilities Act.

The alliance also includes the USGA, which just two weeks ago refused to allow an amateur golfer's caddy use a cart during tournaments, even though the caddy has cerebral palsy and finds it difficult to walk long distances.

Robb said these high profile cases never even came up during the discussions between the groups, according to this item from the Associated Press:
http://www.golfweb.com/u/ce/multi/0,1977,4153191,00.html

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Auto Racer Inspired By Casey Martin
August 13, 2001

PHOENIX, ARIZONA -- Tim Kosikowski entered his third race this past weekend.

The 50-year-old stock car driver was born with spina bifida and used crutches to walk until his legs were amputated when he was 27.

For years he has driven cars, using specially-designed controls on the steering column that allow him to work the gas and the brake with his hands. But he had pretty much given up on the idea of competitive racing, until just three months ago.

That's when professional golfer Casey Martin won a discrimination lawsuit in which the U.S. Supreme Court ruled he had the right to ride a golf cart during PGA Tour events.

This story is from Saturday's Arizona Republic:
"Racing To A Dream"
http://www.azcentral.com/community/comstories/0811racer0811Z1.html

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