USGA struggles to denounce sexual assault on eve of U.S. Women's Open

BEDMINSTER, N.J. — The question was a simple one. “Does the USGA have a position on sexual assault?”

Has an easier question ever been asked of a national governing body — in this case, the U.S. Golf Association?

If you were one of the four officials of the USGA, two men and two women, assembled to speak at the opening news conference before the 2017 U.S. Women’s Open at Trump National, you would have leaned into the microphone, said, “Yes, it’s awful, unacceptable and illegal,” or something of the sort, and moved on.

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But when you’re in business with Donald Trump, the man who appeared on the infamous Access Hollywood videotape bragging that he could sexually assault women without having to worry about the ramifications, your values start to fade.

Your principles waver. Your admirable efforts to try to attract women and girls to a game with a long history of discriminatory and exclusionary practices run head-long into your need to prostrate yourself at Trump’s feet.

And so, in what was a truly remarkable moment in sports news conference lore, three supposed leaders of the USGA sat dumbfounded, unable to utter even one word against sexual assault, while the fourth, a spokeswoman, said the foursome was there to talk about “the golf competition,” but would be happy to discuss the “important question …afterwards.”

Afterwards turned into one hour, then two. Finally, nearly three hours later, a spokesman emailed this to me:

“The USGA has a longstanding policy on harassment. This policy governs not only the conduct of our employees, but safeguards staff, players and fans at all USGA events. Our Staff Code of Conduct prohibits any workplace harassment, including but not limited to, sexual harassment or sexual assault.”

The public moment, of course, was long gone. But the bewilderment that appeared in the eyes of the four poor souls sent to do the USGA’s Trumpian bidding was still fresh in the minds of everyone who witnessed it.

Mike Davis, the USGA executive director who has conveniently avoided answering questions about Trump’s boasts of groping women by claiming he doesn’t want to get into “politics,” is so done with this, he skipped the news conference entirely.

Why does any of this matter? Golf is a man’s game, right? It’s Trump’s game, isn’t it? You sell your soul to him and you’re in a good place, correct?

Actually, no. Golf is in big demographic trouble in the United States. Grandpa and his weekend pals can’t pay greens fees forever. The game isn’t going away, but it’s certainly not growing. In fact, with the Tiger and Phil era now just about over, TV ratings are falling — as participation has for the better part of a decade.

Don’t take my word for it. Listen to former LPGA Commissioner Charlie Mechem, a beloved steward of the game, who said this in an April LPGA news release:

“Although the game of golf is enjoying expansion and growth in other parts of the world such as Asia, there are disturbing signs that golf and the golf business are in a rather precipitous decline in the United States. We must do everything we can to proactively grow the game of golf and restore this game to its rightful place as the greatest sport in the world.”

The largest untapped market for golf is girls and women, especially the daughters of Title IX, millions upon millions of them, who will remain athletic for their entire lives, presumably with a fair share of disposable income.

The USGA desperately needs at least some of them.

On Tuesday, it did everything in its power to turn them all away.