A group of relatives of those killed on Sept. 11 has lashed out at plans to merge the Saudi-backed LIV Golf Series with the PGA Tour, accusing the Tour and its commissioner of “paying Saudi sil” for agreeing to the merger. bottom.
Relatives of 9/11 victims have voiced their dissent almost since the start of the Saudi-backed LIV series. Most of the plane hijackers used in the 2001 attacks were Saudi. Families of 9/11 attended the LIV event and escaped some of the harshest criticism of those who hosted the tournament. The latter group includes former President Donald J. Trump and his family, who were prompted to cancel an event at Trump Golf Course in New Jersey last year.
On Tuesday, one of the relatives’ groups called 9/11 Families United declared that its members were “shocked and deeply resented” by the merger agreement. In a statement, the group called it a “betrayal” by the PGA Tour and Commissioner Jay Monahan.
9/11 Families United chairman Terry Strada said: “The PGA and Monaghan seem to have spent billions of dollars cleaning up the Saudi reputation and just increasing the Saudi salary.”
Saudi Arabia’s critics have often derided its investment in the team and league as a “sports wash”, amid accusations that the country financed terrorism and killed Washington Post reporter Jamal Khashoggi. He claims it is a flimsy effort to restore Saudi Arabia’s reputation.
Strada criticized Monaghan for “cooperating” with the 9/11 community last year in its initial fierce opposition to the Saudi-backed golf tour, but for terminating the merger deal this week.
“Mr. Monaghan last summer we talked I got to know people who lost loved ones on 9/11 and then wondered out loud on national television if a LIV golfer had to apologize for being a member of the PGA Tour,” Strade said. wrote. “They are doing it now, and so is he. The PGA Tour leader should be ashamed of his own hypocrisy and greed.”
Members of both parties made their comments.
“Very strange. Just a few months ago, PGA officials came to my office and said that the human rights situation in Saudi Arabia should disqualify the United States from major sports,” said Chris of the Democratic Party for Connecticut. Congressman Murphy said. In a message posted on Twitter. “Maybe their concerns weren’t really about human rights?”
And Texas Republican Rep. Chip Roy said: Added: “In the end, it’s always about money. Saudi Arabia just bought itself a one-world government for golf.”
During the 2020 presidential campaign, President Biden vowed to make Saudi Arabia a “pariah” for human rights abuses. Most notably, Khashoggi, a Washington Post columnist who lived in Virginia and wrote critically of the Saudi royal family, was murdered. prince and government.
In one of his first foreign policy moves after taking office, Mr. Biden approved the release of a US intelligence report that said Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman had authorized the killing.
Khashoggi was killed by Saudi agents in 2018 while visiting the Saudi consulate in Istanbul to obtain wedding documents. He was strangled by Saudi operatives and then cut off.
Secretary of State Anthony J. Blinken happened to be in Saudi Arabia on Tuesday and was scheduled to meet with Saudi leaders and other Gulf officials this week about the possible normalization of ties between Saudi Arabia and Israel. It is unclear whether the merger of the PGA and LIV will be part of the talks.