How Martha Burke delayed women from becoming members at Augusta National…

By now, everyone has heard that Augusta National finally has allowed women to join as members of the private club.  Condoleezza Rice and Darla Moore have officially accepted membership in the heretofore all-male club.  It was a move that was long overdue, and welcomed by many, although with a lot of snarky remarks from supposedly “non-bias” journalists.

And the person most responsible for the most recent delay in admitting women into the 80-year club is… Martha Burke.

HUH?

Yes, you did see that correctly.  Martha Burke, the person who tried to pressure Augusta National into admitting women members, the person who tried to use Hootie Johnson as a springboard to bigger national prominence, the person who tried to bully CEOs into boycotting advertising at The Masters—likely cost women from being members at Augusta National for several years with her actions.  And although she finally got what she wanted, all she had to do to get it done sooner was… nothing.

I think it’s pretty clear to anyone with a sense of intuition that Augusta National had been looking for some time to add women into their membership.  After all, women could play at Augusta, women could caddie at Augusta, they could do just about anything.  There wasn’t anything in the rules about not admitting women.  They just needed the right women (read:  powerful and rich) to admit.  I always thought Catherine Zeta-Jones would have made a no-brainer choice as the first woman admitted as a member, but at the end of the day, it was not to be. 

I genuinely believe Hootie might have accepted women as members as early as 2000.  Darla Moore would have been too obvious of a choice when Hootie was chairman, however, because it would have given the impression Hootie was just helping a friend rather than breaking a barrier (FTR, Hootie and Darla are close friends).  And Condi was busy serving in the Bush administration in those years, so the perception was that Hootie was trying to curry political favor from W.

In the meantime, Martha Burke had just been named the head of a new organization designed to unify women’s organizations, the National Council of Women’s Organizations.  She saw Augusta National as her break-out moment of glory.  She sensed Augusta National was struggling to find the right women to extend memberships to, and she thought she could pressure Augusta National on her terms.  In the Spring of 2002, she chose to make her stand and used the media to try and bully Hootie into a rushed decision.  Hootie would not back down from the onslaught of sports journalists who sensed they could be witnessing a Jackie Robinson like moment, and even went so far as to suggest Tiger should boycott The Masters.  When Tiger didn’t, it was up to Martha to protest at Augusta.  The protest on that Masters Saturday afternoon was a disaster for Burke.  She could muster only 10 rent-a-protesters and a guy who called himself “Heywood Jablowme”.  Hootie won round 1.

After the embarrassment, Martha tried to bully CEOs into not sponsoring the Masters.  But Hootie saw it coming and decided to televise the Masters commercial-free.  Given how much money Augusta National was pulling in and how he had a willing TV Broadcaster in CBS, he could do it.  Round 2 to Hootie.

Finally Hootie turned over the reins to former ACOG chief, Billy Payne.  Billy is known as a more progressive type, but he moved as deliberately as Hootie before him.  When word came out that IBM, a sponsor of the Masters, was hiring a new female CEO, chatter began that Augusta National would finally admit her as a member.  After all, the IBM CEO automatically had membership in the past.

But Billy already had his choices in mind.  Although he struggled through the 2012 press conferences and had to deal with Martha again, though a Martha that no longer had the clout she once had, Billy made it through another Masters.  Finally, he had the breathing room to make his choices.  And they were excellent ones, befitting Augusta National.  Don’t cry for the IBM CEO, however.  Now, Billy can extend the invite to membership for her next year in a quiet manner, without pressure.

Sure, Martha Burke took a self-congratulatory victory lap yesterday.  But she no longer is in charge of NCWO, and all she can do is claim a victory she nearly squashed.  The real winner here is Billy Payne, who proved he is the right chairman to get the job done at Augusta National.  And for that, I salute the man who managed to bring the Olympics to Atlanta for once again affirming my faith that he could bring female members to Augusta National.

Jobs and Revenue, Mr. Cordish, Job and Revenue…

I don’t like the fact that the Maryland Legislator is currently in Special Session to propose a Constitutional Amendment legalizing a 6th Casino in Maryland.  It’s clear the Prince George’s Delegation has made a backroom deal to sell their souls for a piece of the limited Gambling revenue Maryland has to offer.  The whole slots idea is not a terrible plan, but the way Maryland has approached this is a total botch job that will likely never be cleaned up.  I won’t rehash the details, just go read my previous blogs about Gambling and Horse Racing in Maryland.

But right now, I am taking a tiny bit of satisfaction in knowing that Frank Cordish is watching his business dreams of Maryland Live! being the dominant casino in Maryland getting flushed down the crapper.  The same tactics he used to take the Anne Arundel Casino from Laurel Racetrack (Jobs and Revenue) are now being used against him to get a Casino in National Harbor, which will take away all Business from DC south away from Maryland Live! (Yes Rosecroft is theoretically in the running, but the bidding game has been rigged in favor of National Harbor.) 

Table games or not, Maryland Live! need only look to Perryville to see what will happen to their gambling palace once National Harbor and Baltimore's Casinos come on-line.  When the Arundel Mills Casino came on-line, Perryville lost so much business, that they have petitioned the Maryland Gaming Commission to take back half of the slots.  And Perryville has had to lay off workers at the Hollywood Casino as well.  The same thing will happen at Arundel Mills.  When the Baltimore and National Harbor Casinos come on line, Maryland Live!’s business will come from Northern Anne Arundel, Howard, and Northern Prince George’s County—that’s it!  The voters will have their say in November, but I'll predict it goes 60-40 in favor of a Prince George's Casino at National Harbor.

I voted against the Constitutional Amendment in 2008, and against Question A in 2010.  I was on the losing side both times.  I should vote against the Constitutional Amendment again this year, but after what Cordish did, if Cordish opposes the Casino, I may vote for it.  As a Baltimore businessman, Frank, you should know never to get in bed with Maryland politicians.  You’re now a speed bump for Martin O’ Malley’s quest for the White House in 2016.  Time for you, Mr. Cordish, to bend over and squeal.

Wireless Communication’s Role in Our Nation’s Future…

Anyone who does not follow Wireless Network News like I do may not understand the importance of how wireless will affect our future.  But the wireless industry is critical to the re-invention of how we do things.  The Laptop Computer, the Blackberry, the iPhone, and the Androids have changed the way we conduct our lives.  And new devices in the coming years will only accentuate our ability to conduct business, pay, and address our health.  I’m not the only one who is predicting this.  Yes, many in the wireless industry understands this already.  But I can assure you that many government officials also understand the importance of wireless.  And, according to my work program manager, that knowledge of wireless’ importance in the future of our nation starts at the top with President Obama himself. 

At a recent campaign stop in Northern Virginia, the President himself made the same case I have been making throughout this year about how the building out of the upgraded National Network will fundamentally shift the way we do everything in this country.  In the speech he reiterated how important it was to continue to give tax break to those companies that invest in wireless infrastructure in this country.  It’s interesting to note that in a recent study, AT&T and Verizon were 1-2 in terms of which companies invested in US infrastructure.  Considering that both companies are in the middle of a massive next-generation wireless build-out (with Sprint now joining the build-out with their long awaited Network Vision plans), it’s impossible to imagine that AT&T and Verizon will not maintain that infrastructure standing this year.  So, we’ll see if the President lives up to his word on this.

After WWII, the US built the best wireline phone service in the world, thanks in large part to returning US veterans.  Now, the US has joined the wireless revolution, and intends to build to best wireless communications network in the world.  With the US leading the LTE charge worldwide, the new wireless network (combined with WiFi technology to offset use in homes) will transform our lives.  It may also provide a way for unemployment to get below 8 percent in time for the election, giving the President a chance to win a second term.

The FCC’s standings on wireless is mixed.  It would appear the FCC understands the wireless revolution is at hand, but the speed at which the Government will react will determine whether Government will help or hinder the wireless industry.  Recent ruling against AT&T would give the impression of some resistance, but without the full story, there is no way to know for sure.  There’s also no information about how Mitt Romney views the future of wireless.  I would suspect he would have to be foolish not to see the wireless revolution as a positive. 

The fact that the President and I are seeing the same path is encouraging, but I still have criticism for the Commander-in-Chief.  “Uh, Mr. President, about that Blackberry you use…”