Court Rules Disabled Golfer May Use Cart on P.G.A. Tour By THE ASSOCIATED
PRESS
WASHINGTON (AP) -- Disabled golfer Casey Martin has a legal right
to ride in a golf cart between shots at PGA Tour events, the
Supreme Court said Tuesday.
In a 7-2 ruling with implications for other sports, the justices
ruled that a federal disability-bias law requires the pro golf tour
to waive its requirement that players walk the course during
tournaments.
``We have no doubt that allowing Martin to use a golf cart would
not fundamentally alter the nature of the PGA Tour's tournaments,''
Justice John Paul Stevens wrote in the majority opinion.
He said the purpose of the tour's walking rule is to introduce
fatigue as a factor that could influence the outcome.
But Stevens said Martin's circulatory disorder, which obstructs
blood flow to his right leg and heart, causes him greater fatigue
even with a cart than is experienced by competitors who walk.
When Congress passed the anti-discrimination law for the disabled,
lawmakers intended that sponsoring organizations ``carefully
weigh'' the effect of their rules on the disabled, Stevens said.
Granting an exception would ``allow Martin the chance to qualify
for and compete'' in events also open to qualifying members of the
public, he wrote.
Justice Antonin Scalia wrote the dissent, joined by fellow
conservative Justice Clarence Thomas.
``In my view today's opinion exercises a benevolent compassion that
the law does not place it within our power to impose,'' he said.
Scalia wrote that for the majority, ``there is one set of rules
that is fair with respect to the able-bodied, but individualized
rules ... for talented but disabled athletes.'' He said the law
``mandates no such ridiculous thing.''
The 1990 Americans with Disabilities Act bans discrimination
against the disabled in public accommodations, including golf
courses and entertainment sites. The law requires ``reasonable
modifications'' for disabled people unless such changes would
fundamentally alter the place or event.
That law applies to professional sports events when they are held
at places of public accommodation, the justices said.
The decision upholds a lower court ruling that ordered the PGA Tour
to let Martin use a cart. The lower court said using a cart would
not give him an unfair advantage over his competitors.
Tour officials said they would ``fully review and evaluate'' the
court's decision, and that Martin would continue to be provided
with a cart at any event he entered, as he has been over the last
three years.
``As we have said from the beginning of this issue, the Tour has
the highest respect and admiration for Casey Martin, as an
individual and as a competitor,'' a Tour statement said. ``We have
believed from the beginning of this situation, however, that the
issues involved go well beyond considerations involving an
individual player.
``Through the lawsuit ... the courts were asked to examine the
issue of whether the Tour should be forced to abandon its
long-standing requirement that the rules of competition be applied
equally to all competitors.''
Martin's circulatory condition is called Klippel-Trenaunay-Weber
Syndrome. He sued the PGA Tour in 1997, saying the ADA -- enacted
in 1990 -- gave him a right to use a cart during tour events.
Martin was a teammate of Tiger Woods at Stanford, and the two used
to room together on road trips. Woods has said that Martin
sometimes would be in so much pain that he couldn't get up to use
the bathroom.
Although he has played some events on the PGA Tour, Martin has
spent most of this season on the Buy.com Tour, a minor league
linked to the main tour. His best finish this year was a tie for
34th at the Louisiana Open April 1.
Jack Nicklaus and Arnold Palmer have spoken against allowing any
player to use a cart in elite competition to accommodate a
disability. They have said that using a cart would give Martin an
advantage and take away a basic part of the game: the ability to
walk an 18-hole course.
Nicklaus, playing host to his annual Memorial tournament in Dublin,
Ohio, declined immediate comment on the Supreme Court ruling.
Jim Furyk, a tour golfer preparing for the Memorial, said he was
happy for Martin.
``I understand where the Tour's coming from and my heart goes out
to Casey,'' Furyk said. ``He's a wonderful person, he's a great guy
and a great competitor. I'm happy he gets to go ahead and fulfill
his dream. I understood both sides of the story. ...
``If I was Casey I would have done the exact same thing. I'm happy
for him as a person.''
Annika Sorenstam, the top money winner on the LPGA Tour, also said
she was happy for Martin.
``He wants to play golf, he wants to compete and this gives him a
chance to do it,'' she said during practice for the U.S. Women's
Open at Southern Pines, N.C.
But not all golfers were glad to hear the news.
``Anytime you get to ride you gain an advantage, don't you?'' said Frank
Nobilo, a PGA Tour regular from New Zealand. ``I think you do. It's the same
reason they try to ban drugs in sports -- because it gives an advantage.''
The San Francisco-based 9th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals ruled for
Martin in March 2000. But the next day a Chicago-based federal
appeals court ruled against Indiana golfer Ford Olinger, who sued
the U.S. Golf Association for the right to use a cart in U.S. Open
qualifying. The appeals court said a cart would change the nature
of competition.
Among those supporting the PGA Tour in friend-of-the-court briefs
were the Ladies Professional Golf Association and the men's pro
tennis organization, the ATP Tour.
The Justice Department backed Martin, as did disability-rights
groups including the National Association of Protection and
Advocacy Systems and the Disability Rights Education and Defense
Fund.
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