Professional golfers competing in a new tournament funded by Saudi Arabia offer a standard line when asked about the kingdom’s abysmal human-rights record: “I’m not a politician.” Actual politicians don't have that luxury.
Saudi Arabia has faced allegations that it’s using the newly established LIV Tour series for “sportswashing” — using the crowd-pleasing power of professional sports to repair one’s reputation — and to run the famed PGA Tour out of business. Riyadh’s sovereign wealth fund is spending billions to bankroll the new league and has already lured star players like Phil Mickelson and Dustin Johnson with signing bonuses and payouts far higher than those awarded by the PGA Tour.
Even former President Donald Trump, who cultivated a close relationship with the kingdom during his time in office, is involved. His golf course in Bedminster, N.J., is hosting a LIV tournament at the end of July, and the final is taking place at his club in Doral, Fla., in the fall. (The purse for that final is a cool $50 million — not provided by Trump.) Some Democrats are displeased.
“This is right out of the autocrats’ playbook. This is what they do,” said Sen. Ron Wyden (D-Ore.), whose hometown of Portland is the site of the next LIV tournament in early July. “They’re trying to cleanse these ethical abuses by organizing these sports events.”
As professional golfers struggle to explain their decision to compete in the LIV series, the uncomfortable drama could add a new wrinkle to President Joe Biden’s planned visit to Riyadh next month. Biden’s trip, announced Tuesday by the White House, gives him a chance to seek Saudi help with a growing list of challenges, from gas prices to Iran’s nuclear program.
But Biden is also expected to meet with Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman — the man whom Biden’s intelligence officials revealed last year was responsible for the brutal murder of Washington Post journalist and U.S. resident Jamal Khashoggi. Biden previously vowed to put human rights at the forefront of his foreign policy and promised during his 2020 campaign to make Saudi Arabia an international “pariah.”
Many in Biden’s own party haven’t responded kindly to news of the upcoming trip, with Sen. Tim Kaine (D-Va.) calling it “atrocious.” When asked about Saudi Arabia’s goals with the LIV series, Kaine quipped: “'Golf' spelled backward is 'flog.'”
LIV Golf officials have defended their Saudi partnership as a way to expand the game of golf and create new opportunities for the athletes themselves. Greg Norman, the series' CEO, was harshly criticized when he referred to Khashoggi’s killing as a “mistake” by the Saudi government. He's argued that LIV allows golfers to play “when they want to play, for more money.”
Those comments have sparked claims that the Saudi government is simply trying to drown out the Florida-based PGA Tour. Norman told The Washington Post that LIV Golf offered Tiger Woods a contract in the “high nine digits,” but Woods turned it down. Other golfers have been offered hundreds of millions of dollars up front to participate in the eight-tournament series.
Pro golfer Justin Thomas, who has refused to join LIV, lamented on Monday that it's diminished the PGA Tour, adding: “It’s astronomical money that they’re throwing at people. Everybody has a price for everything.”
At the same time, the LIV organization and the golfers who chose to participate have worked hard to blunt the controversies surrounding Saudi Arabia’s human-rights record, which includes extrajudicial killings and stiff crackdowns on political dissent.
The athletes in particular have relied on a common refrain when asked about it.
“We’re not politicians. We’re professional golfers,” said Graeme McDowell, another participant in the tour. “And if Saudi Arabia wants to use the game of golf to get to where they want to be, and they have the resources to accelerate that experience, I think we’re proud to help them on that journey.”
But in the face of the star power and vast sums of cash LIV has produced, opposition is brewing stateside.
Families of 9/11 victims have appealed directly to golfers, citing U.S. government reports about Saudi Arabia’s role in the 2001 terror attacks. Terry Strada, who leads 9/11 Families United, accused the athletes of chasing big paydays: “This is a betrayal not only of us, but of all your countrymen.”
The PGA Tour suspended 17 players who joined LIV, and its commissioner Jay Monahan said “you'd have to be living under a rock to not know that there are significant implications” that come with a Saudi alliance.
Even Mickelson earlier this year described the Saudi backers as “scary motherfuckers to get involved with,” rattling off the kingdom’s human-rights record and adding: “Knowing all of this, why would I even consider it? Because this is a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity to reshape how the PGA Tour operates.”
Wyden, who lives near the site of the next LIV tournament, said he has heard from club members who are discontinuing their membership in protest and praised Oregonians for “taking a stand.” Local mayors, too, have come out in opposition to LIV.
Of course, there’s little that politicians — at the local, state or federal level — can practically do to stop the tournament's rise, aside from using the bully pulpit.
“This is not flashy, sensationalistic work,” said Wyden. “This is just persistence in saying that you’re not going to look the other way when there’s sportswashing.”
Some of his colleagues, though, are just as quick to puncture LIV criticism. Sen. Tom Cotton (R-Ark.), a national-security hawk and possible 2024 presidential contender, said it was “wrong to attack golfers for participating in a tournament backed by Saudi Arabia, an important Gulf partner.” (Saudi Arabia has long been a strategic partner of the U.S., but successive presidential administrations have struggled with the question of how closely to align with the kingdom.)
Cotton and other Republicans have also argued there’s a double standard when it comes to human rights abuses in other parts of the world, like China — which has faced its own political blowback over ties to the NBA and its team owners.
Sen. Marco Rubio of Florida, the Intelligence Committee's top Republican, said that while it’s appropriate to ask questions about Saudi Arabia’s human-rights record in the context of LIV, “I just don’t understand why the people asking them don’t answer those same questions when it has to do some with China-backed initiative — whether it’s the NBA or other entities that are deeply invested in the Chinese market.”
Sen. Lindsey Graham (R-S.C.), who frequently golfs with Trump, argued that the LIV series is a good thing because it expands the reach of the game. His remarks were in line with leaked talking points in support of the tour.
“If it’s good for golf, let’s do it. And what would be good for golf? More people playing golf,” Graham said in a brief interview. “So if you want to change the Mideast, I think golf has a potential to do that.… The idea that you’re expanding the game is a good thing.”
Sports “tend to bring us together,” Graham added, and applying the “sportswashing” standard universally would mean many other countries are off-limits.
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By: Andrew Desiderio
Title: Teeing off: Saudi Arabia's foray into pro golf sparks political blowback
Sourced From: www.politico.com/news/2022/06/15/saudi-golf-00039610
Published Date: Wed, 15 Jun 2022 09:30:00 EST
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