Pennsylvania Golf Club Calls Police on Black Women for Playing Too Slow
The Grandview Golf Club in York, Pennsylvania, called police to removed a group of five black women – members of the club – for allegedly playing too slowly on April 21.
The women denied the charge, and eventually left the course without finishing their round.
Sandra Thompson, the president of the local NAACP, said her group started about an hour late because of frost on the course. A man she identified as Steve Chronister, a former county commissioner who said he was the club owner, approached as they prepared to tee off on the second hole and asked them to leave. Thompson wrote in a Facebook post that they refused and skipped the third hole because of the delay so they could keep up.
Steve Chronister and his son Jordan approached the group two more times, including the incident seen in this video, which took place after the group had finished the front nine in under two hours, and three of the group left because of the incident.
Police arrived and told the group the club wanted to cancel their memberships immediately, but Thompson told local media that the group refused, asking for a letter describing in writing why their memberships were being canceled.
The club published a statement on Facebook on Sunday apologizing for the incident, and JJ Chronister, Jordan Chronister’s wife, sent an email to the York Dispatch on Monday saying “the interaction between our members and our ownership progressed in a manner that was not reflective of our company’s values or expectations for our own professionalism.”
But she also defended the course’s rules about pace of play in a statement to the York Daily Record and appeared to say that Thompson’s group violated those rules. Thompson firmly denies that accusation.
Chronister also said she would like to meet with the women, but a meeting has not taken place. Credit: Sandra Thompson via Storyful
