Female Journalist Denied Access at Masters
Sunday, April 10, 2011 at 10:12PM Tara Sullivan, a sports columnist for the The Record of Bergen County, N.J., was denied access to a locker room where interviews were taking place at Augusta National after the completion of the Masters on Sunday.
Male reporters were allowed to speak with players but security stopped Sullivan at the entrance.
"Bad enough no women members at Augusta. But not allowing me to join writers in locker room interview is just wrong," Sullivan posted on her Twitter feed. Following that tweet, the Twitter universe lit up with opinions and disbelief.
It's more bad press for a tournament that has come under fire for not having women and enough monoritiy members.
The Record reported that officials later told Sullivan that, "It was a complete misunderstanding by the tournament week security and you should have rightfully been given access per the standard practices of major sporting events."
Augusta National spokesman Steve Ethun said the guard acted improperly in stopping Sullivan, since club policy is to provide equal access to all reporters. The club has no female members, but several female reporters at the tournament confirmed they had made numerous trips to the locker room for interviews in the past without incident.
Sullivan was among a crowd of reporters following third-round leader Rory McIlroy from the course into the clubhouse after his collapse in the final round.
"He just said women were not allowed and there was no official in sight," Sullivan said. By the time she located McIlroy's manager, the interview had been completed.
Ethun said the club hires a number of people to work the tournament and the guard was apparently unaware of the equal-access policy.
"It should not have happened," he said. "We will work as hard as we can to make sure it does not happen again."
