Business
9/11 Families Protest Planned Saudi-Backed PGA Golf League
By Matt De Vlieger · July 12, 2023
In brief…
- The PGA Tour is considering merging with Saudi-backed LIV Golf.
- The merger has been met with outrage from 9/11 families, lawmakers and human rights activists.
- PGA officials defend the merger, arguing that it was the only way to protect their sport from financially superior LIV Golf.
The proposed merger between the PGA Tour and Saudi-backed LIV Golf has stirred a storm of controversy, with critics seizing on Saudi Arabia’s alleged support of 9/11 hijackers and its history of human rights offenses. The contentious deal was the subject of a heated two-hour grilling on Capitol Hill yesterday.
“There is something that stinks about this path that you’re on right now because it is a surrender and it is all about the money,” said Senator Richard Blumenthal (D) Connecticut, voicing his disapproval of the deal.
PGA officials defended the merger, however, arguing that it was the only way to protect their business from financially superior LIV Golf, which has been luring away top players. “Instead of losing control of the PGA Tour, we pursued peace,” said Ron Price, the PGA’s Chief Operating Officer.
The announcement of the merger has reopened old wounds for families of 9/11 victims. In conversation with ABC News, Terry Strada, who lost her husband in the World Trade Center attack, described the pact as “very upsetting,” akin to a “gut punch.”
Despite the backlash, some lawmakers have come out in defense of the merger. Senator Ron Johnson (R-WI) argued it would be “grossly unfair to expect the PGA Tour to bear the full burden of holding Saudi Arabia accountable.”
Looking to the future, Jimmy Dunne of the PGA Tour Policy Board expressed hope that the merger could help bridge cultural gaps, saying “I think there are 18 million [Saudi] men and women that are under the age 32. And I think it would be good if they didn’t think every American hated him…because they had absolutely nothing to do with 9/11.”
PGA officials have assured that if the deal is finalized, they will retain control over operations and players will not face penalties for criticizing Saudi Arabia. Some lawmakers, however, remain unconvinced and may attempt to block the deal on antitrust grounds, depending on how the final draft of merger.