- Argentinian was jailed for crimes against ex-girlfriends
- Women’s rights groups decry decision to let him play
Fred Ridley, the chair of Augusta National, has defended the decision to allow Ángel Cabrera to return to the Masters despite the 2009 champion serving a prison sentence for crimes against women. Cabrera’s reappearance at Augusta has drawn criticism from women’s rights campaigners.
Cabrera is technically entitled to play in the Masters for as long as he wants as a past winner. Whether Augusta should have honoured that entry condition has been widely questioned after the Argentinian spent 30 months in jail. Cabrera was found guilty of assault, theft and intimidation against former girlfriends in 2021 and 2022. “It seems as long as male athletes can excel at hitting a ball, we excuse those same men hitting women,” said Jamie Klingler, co-founder of the Reclaim These Streets campaign group.
