Days after a black woman was violently arrested at a Alabama Waffle House and two black men were arrested for sitting inside a Philadelphia Starbucks, a Pennsylvania golf club is in hot water for calling the police on a group of black women members the father/son co-owners claimed were playing too slowly. The club has since apologized.
One of the woman, Myneca Ojo, told the York Daily Record, “It was a horrific experience,” and that she felt she and her friends were “discriminated against.” They didn’t get very far on the course before the ownership asked them to leave. The white co-owner of the Grandview Golf Club, Steve Chronister, approached them on the second hole to tell them they weren’t playing fast enough—a lawyer from the York chapter of the NAACP said that was not true. The women aren't only members of the club but also part of a more than decade-old golf group called Sisters in the Fairway.
The women decided to skip the third hole to avoid another confrontation. By the ninth hole, three women in the group decided to leave, having been shaken up by the ordeal. Chronister and his son/club co-owner Jordan Chronister approached the remaining two women and asked them to leave the course, alleging again they were taking too long. It’s worth noting that it is customary to take a break at the ninth hole. Nonetheless, the women were told the police were on the way, so they waited for the authorities to arrive.
Jordan Chronister’s wife, JJ Chronister, who also co-owns the club, told the York Daily Record, “We sincerely apologize to the women for making them feel uncomfortable here at Grandview, that is not our intention in any way. We want all of our members to feel valued and that they can come out here and have a great time, play golf and enjoy the experience.” JJ Chronister also said she personally called the women to apologize.
