Talks about a merger began in secret meetings after the Masters in April.
A group of relatives of people killed on September 11 issued scathing criticism of the planned merger between the Saudi Arabian-backed LIV Golf series and the PGA Tour.
Relatives of the victims of 9/11 have spoken out against the Saudi-backed LIV series almost from the start. Most of the hijackers of the planes used in the 2001 attacks were Saudis. The 9/11 families saved some of their harshest critiques for those who participated in LIV events and hosted the tournaments. The latter group includes former President Donald J. Trump and his family, who were urged last year to cancel an event at a Trump golf course in New Jersey.
On Tuesday, a group of family members called 9/11 Families United said its members were “appalled and deeply offended” by the merger agreement. In a statement, the group called it a “betrayal” by the PGA Tour and its commissioner, Jay Monahan.
“The PGA and Monahan just seem to have become more paid Saudi shills, which have cost billions of dollars to clear the Saudi reputation,” said 9/11 Families United president Terry Strada.
Saudi Arabia’s critics often deride its investments in teams and leagues as “sportwashing” and say it is a thinly veiled attempt to restore the kingdom’s reputation amid allegations it funded terrorism and a Washington journalist Post, Jamal Khashoggi, killed.
Strada criticized Monahan for “co-opting” the 9/11 community last year in the PGA Tour’s initial and vehement opposition to the Saudi-backed golf tour, to broker a merger deal this week.
“Mr. Monahan spoken last summer about knowing people who lost loved ones on 9/11, then wondering aloud on national television if LIV golfers ever had to apologize for being members of the PGA Tour,” Strade wrote. “They do now—just like him. PGA Tour leaders should be ashamed of their hypocrisy and greed.”
Members of Congress from both parties weighed in.
“So weird. PGA officials were in my office a few months ago talking about how the Saudis, because of their human rights record, should disqualify them from participating in a major American sport,” said Representative Chris Murphy, a Connecticut Democrat, in a post on Twitter. “I think maybe their concerns weren’t really about human rights?”
And Rep. Chip Roy, a Texas Republican, added: “In the end it is always about the money. Saudi Arabia just bought a one world Gulf government.
During the 2020 presidential campaign, President Biden vowed to make Saudi Arabia a “pariah” for human rights violations, most notably the murder of Mr. Khashoggi, who lived in Virginia and was a columnist for The Washington Post who wrote critically of the Saudi crown prince and the government of the country.
As one of his first foreign policy actions while in office, Mr. Biden authorized the publication of a US intelligence report stating that Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman had approved the assassination.
Mr. Khashoggi was killed by Saudi agents while visiting the Saudi consulate in Istanbul in 2018 to retrieve 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 ties with Israel. It was not clear whether the PGA-LIV merger would be part of the talks.