A Saudi government-backed professional golf tour has emerged in hopes of being a serious competitor to the PGA. LIV Golf is drawing top PGA golfers to its tour with higher pay, but not everyone is happy about it.
LIV hosted a golf tournament over the weekend at Trump National Golf Club Bedminster, and it was met with protests from family members of victims of the Sept. 11, 2001, terrorist attacks.
The victims’ families have every right to be outraged. These were the worst terrorist attacks ever to occur on American soil; they killed about 3,000 people and harmed many others. Of the 19 hijackers on 9/11, 15 were Saudi nationals; all had ties to al Qaeda. Even more than 20 years later, questions remain. Was the Saudi royal family funding al Qaeda? And did they know about these attacks?
Legitimate concerns exist surrounding Saudi involvement in the 9/11 terrorist attacks. The families who lost loved ones are not Alex Jones-tier 9/11 truthers. They understand the connection between this part of the world and terrorism. After all, the Wahhabi Islam practiced in the country has led to the emergence of terrorist groups, and the Saudi government has long been an alleged state sponsor of terrorism.
A professional golf tour partially funded by Saudi Arabia doesn’t belong in the United States, former President Donald Trump’s willing participation in it is disgusting, and every pro golfer participating in it deserves condemnation.
Not to mention, Saudi Arabia has plenty of other problems. For years, Saudi Arabia has led airstrikes in the Yemen civil war. The kingdom has killed many women and children and blocked humanitarian aid from reaching the country. The Saudi government also kills homosexuals for their actions and appears to have approved the assassination of Washington Post columnist Jamal Khashoggi in 2018 for being critical of its regime.
Trump understands why these people are mad, even if he pretends he does not. So, while Trump feigned ignorance and told ESPN that “nobody has gotten to the bottom of 9/11,” he sounded much different on the issue when running for president in 2016. “Who blew up the World Trade Center? It wasn’t the Iraqis. It was Saudi — take a look at Saudi Arabia. Open the documents,” Trump told Fox & Friends in February 2016.
One has to wonder what changed for Trump. It must be money.
Unfortunately, LIV Golf knows money will attract talent to its tour. However, if people ignore the tour and it doesn’t make money, then it may fold. Hopefully, it does for the sake of the families of victims of the 9/11 terrorist attacks.
Tom Joyce (@TomJoyceSports) is a political reporter for the New Boston Post in Massachusetts.
