Legal eagle flies above the golf course: Eve Wright is one of the first black women to work for the LPGA.

Eve Wright is the first to admit that she doesn't give up a fight easily. Growing up in Indianapolis, Wright remembers negotiating every point with her parents and being unremittingly candid. Perhaps it is these characteristics that pointed her to the career goals that she has accomplished so far. As director of legal affairs for the Ladies Professional Golf Association, the world's longest-running women's professional sports association, Wright is one of the first African American women to work for the LPGA at this level. She takes pride in her role with the LPGA but gives credit to some past champions.

"If I'm an inspiration to other African American women interested in golf, it's only because I am able to walk down a path cleared by the unconquerable Althea Gibson, the first African American LPGA Tour player," Wright explains candidly.

The recent golf enthusiast has learned a lot about her role in promoting the organization and bringing this conservative sport to new levels with a certain kind of recognition. She jokes about her experience outside of the office and on the greens. "During my tenure at the LPGA, I have learned that I am not a very good golfer! That little cold hard fact was painful to accept, but I'm coming to terms with it."

The DePauw University graduate went on to earn a J.D. degree from Indiana University School of Law and participated in the Consortium Program at Howard University School of Law. Wright, however, still had enough time to get involved. A rigorous extracurricular schedule in college helped her format her future career goals.

"I was involved in several organizations in college," she remembers. "I pledged Chi Chapter of Delta Sigma Theta Sorority Inc. I was also a board member of the Indiana district of Circle K International Inc., president of the Residence Halls Association, as well as a member of the Association of African American Students and the gospel choir. In law school, I was the president of the Black Law Students Association, a member of Phi Delta Phi International Legal Fraternity, and on the moot court team."

Wright stayed busy. Prior to joining the LPGA, she was an associate in the Minneapolis, office of Fredrikson & Byron P.A., in the e Business and Corporate Transactions groups. Serving as in-house counsel, Wright is involved in several facets of the LPGA, including tournament contracts; sponsorship, licensing, and retail initiatives; foreign trademark prosecution; and television-related initiatives. One other mentors told her about the opportunity at the LPGA headquarters in Daytona Beach, Florida, and Wright decided it was time to gain experience in a new playing field. She also wanted to make her new career something worthwhile.

"I hope that my role as the director of legal affairs will show African American women that opportunities exist in professional sports, even in those sports in which African Americans have not traditionally had a significant presence. I hope they will see me and be inspired to explore those opportunities."

Wright's most important role is to figure out what's best for both the players and the association. An important mission of the LPGA is helping the players gain exposure and make definitive headway in their professional careers. Along with the chief legal officer, Wright serves as counsel for the LPGA, advising them on all legal matters concerning the association's administration program.

"The women on our tours are phenomenal players," she explains. "There may always be a gender gap in this sport, but our job at the LPGA is to keep striving to close that gap."

Even though there are no African American women on the LPGA Tour roster, Wright has high hopes for future involvement. "More African Americans are playing golf now, perhaps to the impetus of Tiger Woods, but also because they are enjoying the sport and gravitating toward it socially. Even though the significant numbers may not be there, it's becoming more popular."

One of Wright's interests is the LPGA Urban Youth Program, established in 1989 by the LPGA Teaching & Club Professional Membership with a grant from the Amateur Athletic Foundation. This yearlong, community-based risk prevention program is geared toward boys and girls between the ages of 7 and 17. These children live in urban communities and may net have an opportunity to play professional golf, but this program serves as a platform for providing the children with alternative activities and, as Wright points out, valuable life lessons.

"The participants are given the opportunity to play golf and learn the fundamentals of the game: etiquette, rules, proper dress, and golf course management. Juniors earn access to play through the program's five-step golf education program. All participants receive fitted equipment. clothing, and instruction by LPGA Teaching & Club Professional members and PGA professionals."

There is also LPGA-USGA Girls Golf, which is an organized partnership between the LPGA and the United States Golf Association, the national governing body of golf. This developmental junior golf program was formed to create a network for girls to learn to play golf, make friends, and sample competition in a positive and supportive learning environment. As the only national initiative of its kind just for girls, the program provides the opportunity to develop skills, progress in golf, and have fun while establishing a lifelong interest in the game. More than 4,000 girls between the ages of 7 and 17 participate at 130 sites nationwide.

Wright serves as a great role model to women of color involved in the behind-the-scenes environs of professional sports. She has noticed an increased interest in the sport of golf, especially among African Americans. It is through her fortitude and perseverance, and that of countless other women who have played significant roles as athletes or other professionals in sports, which serves as stepping stones for the careers of all other African American women who have and will come behind them. "If my position with the LPGA helps to further erode the stereotypes regarding the positions that African American women can and cannot hold in professional sports, then I am merely fulfilling my obligation to uphold the legacy that our mothers, grandmothers, and great grandmothers have left us."