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SHAME ON CASEY MARTIN

May 31, 2001

MARINA DEL REY, CA--The U.S. Supreme Court's ruling in favor of golfer Casey Martin is a gross injustice, said a senior writer for the Ayn Rand Institute.

"Instead of gracefully accepting his inability to compete with able-bodied opponents under the rules of a private organization he voluntarily joined, Martin chose to force his way into PGA competition by invoking the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA), an egalitarian federal statute that penalizes ability in the name of helping the disabled," said Thomas A. Bowden, a Baltimore-based attorney.

"The court did not even pause to acknowledge the innocent victims of their decision," said Bowden "The first victim is the PGA Tour, which should have an absolute right to set its own rules for its tournaments. The next victims are the spectators, who want to see professional golf played at its highest level. And then there is the able-bodied golfer who is cut from the tournament to make room for Martin, and who is expected to pick up his broken dreams and go quietly home. One can only imagine his torment at the injustice of being penalized simply for having abilities that another man lacks."

"The legal and moral principles at stake here extend far beyond the realm of spectator sports," added Bowden. "The ADA's backers count on the benevolence of decent people to support this decision. But genuine benevolence toward the disabled is possible only through voluntary good will; it cannot be achieved by the Court's egalitarianism, which only punishes the able for being able."

Ayn Rand Institute senior writer Thomas Bowden is available for interviews.

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