Women say they faced racial, gender discrimination at central Pa. golf course

Five African-American women say the ownership and staff at Grandview Golf Club in Dover Township discriminated against them based on their color and gender during an incident at the course on Saturday.

The women — Sandra Thompson, 50; Myneca Ojo, 56; sisters Sandra Harrison, 59, and Carolyn Dow, 56, and Karen Crosby, 58 — were at first told they were not keeping the pace of play by former York County Commissioner Steve Chronister, who they said told them he was the club's owner.

Later, the women were told they had taken too long of a break between the first and second halves of the course. They were then asked to leave, offered their membership money refunded, and the police were called.

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The women say no one else at the club was treated the way they were.

"I felt we were discriminated against," Ojo said Sunday. "It was a horrific experience."

The club's co-owner, JJ Chronister, responded on Sunday, writing in a news release that the incident "does not reflect our organization’s values or our commitment to delivering a welcoming environment for everyone. We are disappointed that this situation occurred and regret that our members were made to feel uncomfortable in any way."

More on the Chronister's ownership of Grandview Golf Club, with video.

She added that her father-in-law, Steve Chronister, is not an owner of the club, but serves in an advisory role. He declined to comment Sunday and Monday.

JJ Chronister said she had reached out to all of the women and wanted to meet with them on Sunday, to ensure that an incident similar to Saturday's never happens again. The women had not met with Chronister as of Monday, but did not rule out a meeting in the future.

First day of play

The five are part of a larger group of York County women known as Sisters in the Fairway. The group has been around for at least a decade, and all of its members are experienced players who have golfed all over the county.

Grandview Golf Course is the oldest public golf course in York County, dating back to the early 1920s.

On Saturday, the group had a 10:08 a.m. tee time but was delayed nearly an hour because of frost on the course, said Thompson, president of the York branch of the NAACP.

As the last member to arrive, and realizing that a fifth member might pose a problem — typically, golf groups are four at most — Thompson asked a clerk if it was OK that she join the other four. No problem, she was told.

Around 11, the group teed off. At the second hole, Ojo and Crosby said that Steve Chronister spoke with them.

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"I was approached by Steve Chronister, and he said, 'I'm one of the owners and you need to keep up the pace of play," Crosby said. "To me, that was a gross misrepresentation of who he was."

"He was extremely hostile," Ojo said.

Thompson, on another part of the hole, saw Steve Chronister talking to Ojo and Crosby.

"So, obviously, while the guy's (Chronister) talking to them, there's a delay," Thompson said.

On the same hole, Harrison spoke with a Grandview golf pro, pointing out the group in front of them, which was on the green.

"He acknowledged that we were fine," she said.

Group members said Steve Chronister spoke with them again, this time with Thompson, again saying they were too slow. Thompson said they were not, that they had kept the group in front of them within their sights at all times, as golf etiquette dictates.

Watch: Sandra Thompson submitted this video, claiming that she and a group of her friends were discriminated against at Grandview Golf Club. Story continues below the video.

"He said, 'You're going too slow, I'll give you a refund,' as if he didn't want us as members," she said. "I said, 'Do you realize we're the only black women on this course, and you're only coming up to us? We paid, we want to play.' He walked off in a huff."

The group continued playing, skipping the third hole to continue their pace. When they reached the fourth hole, they had to wait because the group in front of them had not teed off yet, Thompson said.

Another confrontation

After the ninth hole, where it is customary to take a break before continuing on the next nine holes, three of the group — Harrison, Dow and Crosby — decided to leave because they were so shaken up by the incident, they said.

After the three left, Thompson said she and Ojo were then approached by Steve Chronister, his son, Jordan Chronister (JJ Chronister's husband) and several other employees.

The women were told they had five minutes to leave and that police had been called. In addition, they were offered checks to refund their membership money.

Crosby described Jordan Chronister's demeanor as "aggressive, confrontational and condescending."

Jordan Chronister, who identified himself as an owner, said he had timed the women on their break and that they had exceeded the 20-minute limit. But the women were also informed they had been timed on the first nine holes at one hour, 45 minutes, Thompson said.

Watch: Myneca Ojo submitted this video from the second incident. Story continues below the video.

Doubling the time of the first nine would have put the women under the total course rule of four hours and 15 minutes. However, the break between holes 9 and 10 is expected to last about 5-10 minutes, JJ Chronister said.

Also, the group that was playing behind the women had taken a break as well and had not even teed off yet, Harrison said.

Thompson said they were offered reimbursement for their memberships, but she said, "That is the equivalent of, 'We don't want your business.' We kept saying, 'Look, we're members,'" she said.

Northern York County Regional Police arrived, conducted interviews and left, Thompson said.

No charges were filed, police reported Monday.

"No result on our end, no action," Northern York County Regional Police Chief Mark Bentzel said. "We were called there for an issue. The issue did not warrant any charges. All parties left, and we left as well."

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Possible meeting

On the proposed meeting with JJ Chronister, Thompson said, "We're interested in getting long-term resolution, not short-term resolution. ... We're not looking at surface or quick fixes, because surface or quick fixes doesn't fix the mindset of what led to this."

Thompson is the vice chair of the Democratic Party of York County and a full-time attorney with law offices in York. She is also a former candidate for York County judge.

Instead of a meeting, she was hoping for sensitivity and diversity training.

"There needs to be something more substantial to understand they don't treat people in this manner," she said.

Watch: JJ Chronister responds Sunday to the allegations of racial and gender discrimination at the golf course. Story continues below the video.

Grandview's full statement from co-owner JJ Chronister:

“Yesterday at Grandview Golf Club, several of our members had an experience that does not reflect our organization’s values or our commitment to delivering a welcoming environment for everyone. We are disappointed that this situation occurred and regret that our members were made to feel uncomfortable in any way. We have reached out to the members who shared their concerns to meet in-person, to fully understand what happened so that we can ensure it never happens again. Our team is very sorry for any interaction that may have made any member feel uncomfortable. Please know that we are taking this issue very seriously and expect our own organization to meet the highest standards for service that allows for everyone to feel comfortable and welcome.”

Chronister issued a second statement on Monday:

"Grandview currently has 2400 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. 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."

Contact Ted Czech at 717-771-2033.