Regardless of what you think about Ángel Cabrera in the Masters, no doubting the privilege that aided him

Reasonable people can disagree on the validity of Augusta National’s rationale to offer Cabrera a spot in the field this week.

“Well, we certainly abhor domestic violence of any type,” club chairman Fred Ridley said Wednesday. “As it relates to Ángel, Ángel has served the sentence that was prescribed by the Argentine courts, and he is the past champion, so he was invited.”

I do wonder how forgiving the club would have been had one of the victims been a daughter of a club member. But this is the part that struck me.

At every turn in this process, Cabrera has been the beneficiary of an inordinate amount of privilege in his rehabilitation that normal, everyday people do not receive. And if institutions — including the federal government — are going to offer welcome to Cabrera, the same grace should be extended to everyone to those with the same troubled history.

Let’s start with the fact that Cabrera even set foot in the country. Charles Kuck, an immigration attorney of note based in Atlanta, told The Atlanta Journal-Constitution on Thursday that noncitizens like Cabrera who commit crimes involving “moral turpitude” (“crimes that are bad,” he clarified) are generally ineligible for a visa to the U.S. Such applicants have to apply for a special waiver.

Kuck called it “miraculous” and “almost impossible” that Cabrera received a visa to enter the U.S. after his two convictions, to say nothing of the time in which it was granted.

“It’s extraordinarily rare that somebody with that jail time and conviction gets this waiver,” he said. “Usually, they have to wait, like, 15 years from the date of their conviction. This is rare.”

It wouldn’t be a surprise if Cabrera, whose PGA Tour career earnings exceeded $14 million, benefited from legal representation that most of us can’t afford and supporting documentation from powerful people or institutions that most of us don’t have access to.

Being a talented and famous golfer probably helped him win the favor of the U.S. Department of State.

“The Department of State does give special treatment to celebrities and famous people on the visa issues,” Kuck said. “They absolutely do that and have for decades. He’s not the only one.”

And, after that, the PGA Tour received him back to its senior tour (where he won last week), and Augusta National extended him its invitation as a past champion. It’s their decision. Some might even say it’s even laudable that they gave Cabrera a second chance. (Some, obviously, would not.)

However, imagine if Augusta National or the PGA Tour had once employed an anonymous office worker who went to jail for assaulting two women. Would either organization hire that person back for the same position?

Keith Parker, president and CEO of Goodwill of North Georgia, sees it play out in his organization’s mission to help individuals with past convictions to achieve success through meaningful employment. Goodwill assists thousands of people with justice backgrounds, as the nonprofit charitably calls it, find jobs as forklift operators, welders and other blue-collar positions.

But Parker does recognize the inequities in the system higher up the ladder.

“Wealth obviously plays a role,” he told the AJC. “If you have the best of lawyers, the best of contacts and those other things, they help you in your network to get some of the high-end paying, more professional positions than does a person who does not have those types of resources.”

I want to believe that Cabrera is truly rehabilitated and contrite. I hope he’ll use his wealth and platform to advocate for those less advantaged than him who were in his straits. Because they’re out there and are in need of help.

I asked Kuck, the immigration attorney, what he thought about Cabrera’s story.

“That the system works occasionally,” he said. “And it should work this way for everybody.”

Truly.

Interestingly, Parker does believe that Cabrera should be playing this week.

“Once they come out (of jail), my philosophy is, ‘OK, they’ve served the time,‘” he said. “‘They were punished, and now let’s help them get back on a path of doing the right things.‘”

Coincidentally, April is actually recognized nationally and in Georgia as Second Chance Month, a celebration of fresh starts for people who have been impacted by the legal system. This month, Goodwill of North Georgia is holding a series of job fairs throughout its area (including metro Atlanta) to connect employers with the formerly incarcerated.

Loaded with data touting the success rate of men and women when they get a second chance – like Cabrera did, but just about all of them in far greater need – Parker encourages local companies to take part.

Augusta National ought to apply for a booth.