Civil rights group ‘concerned’ by midstate golf club’s actions

(Harrisburg) — A civil rights group is concerned over a midstate golf club’s recent treatment of five African American members.

The Anti-Defamation League is calling on the owners of the Grandview Golf Club to apologize.

The ADL says the incident at the club in Dover Township, York County is yet another example of how implicit bias impacts people of color every day.

A group of African American women were on the course when they were approached by former York County Commissioner Steve Chronister, the father of one of the owners, who told them they were not keeping up with the pace of play.

They were confronted again by co-owner Jordan Chronister, who told them to leave and that the police had been called.

Jeremy Bannett, associate regional director for the Anti-Defamation League, said it’s troubling the club apologized a day after the incident, then appeared to backtrack in a follow-up statement.

“And the owner who was directly involved in the incident never apologized, and the club hasn’t yet explained how it’s going to prevent incidents like this from happening in the future,” Bannett said.

No arrests were made.

“The fact that the police came and made no arrests supports that conclusion–they did nothing wrong,” Bannett said.

He added he’s encouraged from the response by Northern York County Regional Police, and said it can serve as an example to other law enforcement agencies who are called to deal with similar complaints.