A group of relatives of those killed on September 11 issued harsh criticism over the planned merger between the Saudi-backed LIV Golf series and the PGA Tour, calling the league and commissioner its “paid to Saudi Arabia” for agreeing to it.
Relatives of 9/11 victims have spoken out against the Saudi-backed LIV series almost since its inception. Most of the plane hijackers used in the 2001 attacks were Saudis. The 9/11 families have spared some of their harshest criticisms of those who took part in LIV events and hosted its tournaments. The second group includes former President Donald J. Trump and his family, who have urged last year to cancel an event at a Trump golf course in New Jersey.
On Tuesday, a group of relatives, known as Family Solidarity of 9/11, announced that their members were “shocked and deeply offended” by the merger agreement. In a statement, the group called it a “betrayal” of the PGA Tour and its commissioner, Jay Monahan.
Family United 9/11 president Terry Strada said: “The PGA and Monahan appear to have become more paid Saudi shills, taking billions of dollars to clean up Saudi Arabia’s reputation. Ut.
Critics of Saudi Arabia often deride their investments in teams and leagues as “sports cleansing” and say it is a lightly disguised attempt to restore their reputation. of the kingdom amid accusations that it was sponsoring terrorism and Murder of Washington Post journalist Jamal Khashoggi.
Strada criticized Monahan for “admissioning” to the 9/11 community last year during the PGA Tour’s initial and scathing opposition to the Saudi-backed golf tournament, only to cut a deal. Merger this week.
“Mr. Monahan talked last summer about knowing people who lost loved ones on 9/11, then wondered aloud on national television whether LIV golfers would ever have to apologize for being a member of the PGA Tour,” Strade wrote. “Now they do – so does he. PGA Tour leaders should be ashamed of their hypocrisy and greed.”
Members of Congress from both sides weighed in.
“It’s ridiculous. PGA officials came to my office just a few months ago to talk about how the Saudis’ human rights record would disqualify them from participating in a major American sport,” the representative said. Chris Murphy, a Connecticut Democrat, said. in a message posted on Twitter. “I guess maybe their concern isn’t really about human rights?”
And Representative Chip Roy, a Republican from Texas, more: “In the end it is always money. Saudi Arabia just bought itself a one world golfing government.
During the 2020 presidential campaign, President Biden vowed to make Saudi Arabia a “lower” for human rights abuses, most notably the murder of Mr. Khashoggi, who lived in Virginia and was columnist for The Washington Post, who wrote a critique of the Saudi crown. prince and government of the country.
As one of the first foreign policy actions while in office, Mr. Biden release authorization about a US intelligence report that Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman approved the killing.
Mr. Khashoggi was killed by a Saudi agent while visiting the Saudi consulate in Istanbul in 2018 to obtain documents for his upcoming wedding. He was strangled by Saudi agents and then dismembered.
Secretary of State Antony J. Blinken happened to be in Saudi Arabia on Tuesday for talks this week with Saudi leaders and other Gulf state officials about the possibility of the kingdom normalizing relations with Israel. It is not clear whether a PGA-LIV merger is part of the discussions.
