Roanoke Times
Copyright (c) 1995, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: SATURDAY, July 2, 1994 TAG: 9407020040
SECTION: SPORTS PAGE: B3 EDITION: METRO
SOURCE: Associated Press
DATELINE: DAYTON, OHIO LENGTH: Medium
\ Some Dayton Country Club members protested the award of an honorary club membership to new University of Dayton basketball coach Oliver Purnell as an incentive to accept the job.
They said the 625-member club has a four-year waiting list for golf privileges and that regular applicants who have paid a $7,500 deposit should not have been passed over, the Dayton Daily News reported Friday.
"I'm very opposed to it," said member John R. Brownell, a retired businessman who said he signed a protest letter that was sent to the club's board.
Purnell received the membership, valued at $20,000, as part of a $300,000 salary and benefits package to leave Old Dominion University in Norfolk, Va. He is the first black member in the club's 98-year-history.
Brownell said he and other members are not opposed on racial grounds. They just don't support the honorary status of the coach's membership. The membership provides full golf privileges.
Board president Thomas Green said some members want a referendum to remove the club's directors from office.
"It has nothing to do with Oliver Purnell personally, and I can't say that strongly enough," Green said. "It deals with classification of membership. We are delighted to have Oliver Purnell as a member. We are delighted that he happens to be an African-American. I know of no one who has articulated anything to the contrary."
But a former waitress at the club who was fired for insubordination in early June, Tammy Ayers, told the Daily News she heard many racist comments when she worked at the club.
Purnell, who said he seldom plays golf, has played tennis at the club. He said he has been treated courteously by members and staff.
Because Purnell's membership is honorary, UD did not have to pay the $20,000 fee. That is a sore point with some members.
"The only way to do it right is for the University of Dayton to put up the $20,000," member Joe Eilers said.
by CNB