Lies, Damned Lies, And Saudi Sports-Washing
If Donald Trump couldn't lie about something, he'd have nothing to say
A few weeks ago, the new Saudi-funded LIV Golf tour held its second tournament at Pumpkin Ridge Golf Club outside Portland. The tournament was highly controversial because the LIV Tour is underwritten by the Saudi government’s Sovereign Wealth Fund. Mayors in the area asked Pumpkin Ridge to cancel the tournament, but the Texas company that owns the courses saw nothing but dollar signs (and lots of them). They proclaimed that the show must go on. And go on, it did.
Families who lost loved ones on 9/11 protested near the entrance to the club on all three days of the tournament, and while the protests made the news, the tournament went off without incident. Golfers, fans, and tournament officials alike ignored the 9/11 families.
So what if 15 of the 9/11 hijackers were Saudi nationals?? That was SO 2001.
Last weekend, the LIV Tour decamped at Donald Trump's summer home and country club at Bedminster, NJ. That Bedminster is barely 50 miles from Ground Zero was seen by the 9/11 families as a clear and obvious insult. Even worse was the lie told by Trump when he was asked about hosting the tournament:
Former President Donald Trump on Thursday defended hosting a Saudi-funded tournament at his golf course in Bedminster, New Jersey, by casting doubt on any connection between Saudi Arabia and the 9/11 terrorist attacks. Asked to respond to harsh criticism from families of Sept. 11 victims who are urging Americans to protest the Saudi-backed LIV Golf tournament, Trump suggested there was still uncertainty surrounding the attacks.
“Well, nobody’s gotten to the bottom of 9/11, unfortunately, and they should have,” Trump told ESPN.
That’s a damned lie, and Trump knows it- though a Trump lie and $1.50 won’t even get you a mocha latte anymore. Anyone with even a passing familiarity with 9/11 knows that 15 of the 19 9/11 hijackers were Saudi nationals. Donald Trump, as a native New Yorker, certainly knows this and doesn’t care. Money respects no morality, after all.
His comments sounded like a heartless “F**K YOU!! I’M MAKING MONEY HERE!!” to the 9/11 families. And for Trump, there is no higher value- NOTHING gets between him and making money. This is the same person who buried his first wife near the 1st hole at Bedminster so he could claim the property as a cemetery and therefore be tax exempt.
What, you thought he was sentimental?? Perish the thought.
Donald Trump knows a lot about 9/11. He knows he was living in New York at the time. (Correct.) He knows that after 9/11, he had the tallest building in lower Manhattan. (Not even close.) Trump said on 9/11 he saw on TV that there were thousands of Muslims cheering about the devastation in Jersey City. (Maybe in his ketchup-stained hallucinations.)
The one thing he doesn't know is who did it. Maybe it's a mental block, because of that time when Barack Obama murdered Osama bin Laden with one hand literally at the same time he was making jerkoff motions toward Trump with the other at the White House Correspondents Dinner. Maybe the memory of who did 9/11 hurts him, for personal ego reasons.
At least that's the impression we got from what Trump said today at his Bedminster resort, where there is a Saudi-sponsored golf tournament happening. (Specifically, the LIV Golf series is sponsored by Saudi Arabia's Public Investment Fund, the overseer of which is Crown Prince Mohammad bin Salman.) Because when American golf orgs refuse to hold tournaments at golf courses owned by people who incited terrorist attacks against America, why not just do tournaments with countries whose homegrown hijackers also carried out terrorist attacks against America?
When a fan following Phil Mickelson’s group shouted, “C’mon, Phil! Do it for the Saudi royal family!!,” you’d have thought the fan had insulted Phil’s mother. The fans around him and course officials tried to have him thrown out for something that, while a breach of golfing etiquette, was hardly offensive.
Of course, if someone had shouted, “TRUMP SUCKS!!!” or “LOCK HIM UP!!!” the guy would’ve been immediately tossed out on his butt.
LIV Golf has been tossing around millions of dollars to attract top-flight professional golfers. So far, they’ve been reasonably successful. Unfortunately, what they haven’t done is disassociate themselves from the Saudi government’s grotesque human rights record. The most prominent stain on that record is the murder and dismemberment of Washington Post reporter Jamal Khashoggi, allegedly ordered by Saudi Crown Prince Muhammad bin-Salman.
Some wags even took to referring to Bedminster as the “Bone Saw Country Club,” which I’d wish I could take credit for. I can’t imagine it was well-received by the country club (or the #MAGA) set.
Then there’s the neverending war in Yemen, in which Saudi forces have killed thousands of civilians, including children since 2014. Nearly 2.4 million children under the age of five are at high risk for acute malnutrition due to the conflict, which has devolved into a proxy war between Saudi Arabia and Iran. The US is involved because we’re selling arms to the Saudis, but most Americans know next to nothing about what their tax dollars are contributing to in Yemen.
Yes, we have blood on our hands as well. Not that there’s anything unusual about that.
There’s little doubt but that the Saudis are up to their eyeballs in blood, so what better way to repair their damaged reputation than to throw some of their billions around? Who appreciates large sums of money more than the already rich? And one of the perfect sports for those who already have more money than they know what to do with is golf. A golf tournament is a weekend spent on perfectly manicured fairways and greens, watching fabulously talented and ridiculously wealthy athletes while guzzling pricey drinks and eating overpriced food. And where never is heard a discouraging word and Bryson DeChambeau hammers 400-yard drives.
I almost went to the LIV tournament here in Portland, but the more I thought about it, the more disturbed I became over the association between LIV Golf and Saudi Arabia’s bloody, gore-spattered human rights record. The Saudis are employing LIV Golf as “sportswashing”- using sports to rehabilitate its poor public image. By throwing billions at LIV Golf and putting on lavish tournaments at well-appointed country clubs, the Saudis hope to paper over the perception reality that they’re butchers with no regard for human life.
All they have to do is to convince the players, fans, and press not to look behind the curtain where the inconvenient truth lies. So far, most have been unwilling to risk ruining their comfort and enjoyment as they bask in the fantastical environment provided by the Saudis and their billions.
Who wants to look beyond the curtains when you’re watching some of the world’s best golfers on one of the world’s most exclusive country club courses?
The players who’ve joined the LIV tour have hitched their star to a lucrative gravy train. The tournaments are no-cut and only 54 holes. And everyone gets a paycheck (even the last-place finisher makes a minimum of $125,000). Most PGA tournaments cut to the top 72 players and ties after 36 holes, and only players who make the cut get a check. Depending on the tournament, the player bringing up the rear can make as little as $1000, which, after expenses means that a player can easily leave a tournament in the red. LIV players have no such worries. Even the caddies are well cared for, something you don’t find on the PGA Tour.
LIV Golf is hoping that the riches they’re offering will overcome any moral issues players might have. So far, that seems to be the case. In addition, LIV tournaments are scheduled every 2-3 weeks, not every week like the PGA Tour, so LIV players can make a ton of money- even if they don’t play well- and have more time to spend with their families.
As might be imagined, the PGA Tour isn’t happy that some players are jumping over to the new tour. They’ve suspended players who have gone over to the “dark side.” Some players, like Dustin Johnson, have resigned their PGA Tour memberships, and some have decided that the PGA Tour can pound sand. The competition has forced the PGA Tour to find ways to make their tournaments more lucrative for their players. In that respect, it’s forced the PGA Tour out of its decades-long complacency. It’s no longer the only game in town and the PGA Tour is being forced to recognize the need to become more competitive.
It comes down to a conflict between very wealthy and talented athletes, and it’s something people like me (I’m neither) can find difficult to wrap our heads around. For instance, when Swedish golfer Henrik Stenson won the LIV tournament at Bedminster, he won $4 million AND and an additional $375,000 because his team came in second. That’s more money than most of us will make during our lifetimes, so you’ll have to pardon me for not coming down on the side of the players…OR the tours. There’s way too much money in play for walking around a field whacking a dimpled white ball with a stick.
Over three days. Gimme a frickin’ break.
Don’t get me wrong. I used to play golf- and I was a decent enough player- until degenerating disks in my back made the twisting involved in swinging a golf club very painful. I love the game, even if I can no longer play. However, I can’t take sides in a conflict where both sides are filthy rich. It’s really just a matter of degree- who’s filthier or who’s richer. Either way, it doesn’t impact me.
What does bother me is the Saudi government attempting to “sportswash” their awful human rights record by throwing billions at a new golf tour. It’s cheapened everyone who’s come into contact with it. Some here in Portland regret their involvement with the LIV Tour and wish they’d known more about it before they jumped into bed with it.
What’s worse, though, are the thousands who’ve flocked to the tournaments despite being cognizant of the Saudi government’s reputation for butchery. So many know what the Saudis are responsible for but don’t care. It’s not their problem.
Jamal Who? Where’s Yemen, anyway? And how is human rights our problem?
Because what happens in Yemen and Saudi Arabia isn’t our circus or our monkeys, right? Besides, Yemen’s just a god-forsaken sandbox halfway around the world. Human rights? Everyone has human rights problems, don’t they? It’s going to happen whether or not we go to one of their tournaments, so what difference does it make?
Sure, but to use a historically fraught analogy, if you knew Nazis were gassing Jews and they were sponsoring a soccer league, would you go to their matches? Some things are just wrong and we shouldn’t be supporting them, even indirectly.
Money and Donald Trump may not respect morality, but we should because when we cease to be moral beings we’re no better than animals.
And on that cheery note, have a safe, relaxing, and enjoyable Monday.
