In 2018, a group of Black women said a Pennsylvania golf course discriminated against them by calling the police on the group for playing too slow. Two of the women involved in the incident filed a lawsuit Monday against the course's parent company, claiming racial and gender discrimination.
According to CNN, Myneca Ojo and Karen Crosby have sued Brew Vino LLC, which owns the York County Grandview Golf Course, and several employees involved as well.
The lawyers who represent Ojo and Crosby said that the Pennsylvania Human Relations Commission made an objective determination that their clients were harassed, and thus, said they would be continuing to pursue the case in federal court.
"The civil rights violations undertaken by representatives of Grandview Golf Course against our clients in April of 2018 continue to shock the conscience of civil-minded Americans," attorneys John L. Rollins and Mary H. Powell said.
In the lawsuit, Ojo and Crosby’s legal team requests a jury trial and compensatory and punitive damages but fails to specify an official amount, according to CNN.The suit alleges that a white male owner told one of the people in their group that they weren't keeping pace and followed up by treating them differently from other guests using the course.
Despite it being the women's first-ever game at the golf course and having their start time pushed back due to inclement weather, other golfers have been documented saying that the group didn’t slow them down at all.
One man told police he thought it was unusual the women's group had five golfers instead of the standard four but said their speed didn’t affect the play of his group when CNN broke the story two years ago.
Course employee Steve Chronister called police twice on the group and told police the women weren't adhering to the “time guidelines and delaying tee times for other golfers.”
After a verbal confrontation between the group and Chronister occurred, the officers at the scene determined that it wasn’t a police matter and left the two sides to hash out their differences. The women’s group left on their own accord, and no charges were filed against them.
The day after the incident, the club's co-owner JJ Chronister called the women and apologized, per CNN.
JJ also released a statement to the York Daily Record that appeared to muddle her apology:
"Grandview currently has 2,400 members. In the past players who have not followed the rules, specifically pace of play, have voluntarily left at our request as our scorecard states. In this instance, the members refused to leave so we called police to ensure an amicable result," she told the news outlet. "The members did skip holes and took an extended break after the 9th hole. We spoke with them once about pace of play and then spoke with them a second time. During the second conversation we asked members to leave as per our policy noted on the scorecard, voices escalated, and police were called to ensure an amicable resolution. "
On Wednesday, Crosby told CNN that the progress on the suit makes her "relieved and happy” to be on the brink of receiving closure, but revealed that the group hasn’t golfed since the incident occurred.
