For those who don’t like the title too bad. It fits the organizations, players and situation like a blood soaked (golf) glove!
And you know what? I have more respect for some street-walker crack whore who at least is honest that in addition to a simple money for sex encounter they will submit to all manner of degradation to get enough money to obtain their next “fix.”
Quite credible reporting says there was literally a handful of people in the room when this deal was hammered out. I hope our IRS and counterparts overseas look HARD at their finances and for years to come because there’s no doubt in my mind they got bought off by bloody Saudi money. Ok, maybe a threat or two about loved ones and bone saws too but mainly if not totally it came down to how much BRIBE money had to be handed over.
The Saudi Investment Fund is MBS’s tool for “Sport Washing” his murderous cruelty and authoritarian rule. He’s not the first to use sports, internationally loved ones to promote his country and distract from the awful actions taken to remain in power. He won’t be the last either. Also, if you don’t like, and maybe even hate golf and are thinking “I’m a baseball, or football, or basketball fan so who cares?” don’t go kidding yourself. MBS and his money will be coming after other pro sports and engineering takeovers of them all. Oh, the PR departments will do as the PGA and DP World Tours are doing and paint a rosy picture of a wonderful new “partnership” but make no mistake. Golf faced a hostile takeover attempt, played hardball with players on the PGA and DP Tours to keep them from defecting to LIV and has sold out. Without warning.
Make no mistake. The powers-that-be in golf got a LOT of money dangled in front of them. And took it! These are smart people who like the Saudis will do a good job of hiding the enormous payoffs but make no mistake. They got bought off. In fact, they bargained for a bigger and better payoff while pretending to be righteous. To stand up for human rights and not allow an ancient and respected game and sport to be forever tarnished.
With blood.
Jay Monahan (the current PGA Tour Commissioner) and the rest of the leadership are as vile and despicable as the dude who’s golf course entrance sign in the title pic is splattered in blood. Every sign at every PGA venue (DP Tour too) might well the same treatment. I for one won’t lose a moment’s sleep if that happens. Again and Again. Instead of vandalism other, legal recourses are available. Fans can protest. Hold up signs. Shout at the golfers as they walk the fairways, and especially to Monahan and others who show up at events to give interviews. And those a-hole who shout dumb stuff like “MASHED POTATOES” or “IN THE HOLE” when players hit drives? How about “SAUDI BLOOD MONEY!” Now THAT is something that instead of cursing about I’d celebrate.
I’m furious. Watching Golf Channel the general reaction from players is pretty much WTF? From those struggling to keep their Tour Card who could have gotten a decent guaranteed income for selling out to LIV and the Saudis to big names like Tiger Woods, Rory McElroy, Jordan Spieth and others that make huge sums from playing and endorsements who like Mickelson could have gotten a couple hundred million (or more) to join LIV? They are NOT happy campers this afternoon. They stood firm and openly criticized LIV and the Saudis. Now what?
Late this afternoon Monahan is having a meeting with PGA Tour players. Lucky for him he can video conference because I doubt he’d be safe if he was in a room with them!
Oh, he’ll talk about that lawsuits and the cost both financial and image-wise of fighting LIV for years. That eventually some type of arrangement would have to be worked out so might as well rip the band-aid off the gaping wounds in golf, and so on.
But I say again. It’s all about BLOOD SOAKED MONEY. Monahan and his cronies, a handful of people cut a deal and somewhere he and they have bank accounts that have just gotten astronomical deposits! If he doesn’t like that I’ll be happy to call him a corrupt motherf**ker to his face whenever he’s in NC. I live less than an hour from Pinehurst. And a Senior PGA Tour event is held a few miles away from where I live, literally fronting the very same road on which my apartment complex sits. Hey Jay – unlike YOU I have honor and will keep my promise not to smash a punch into your LYING and CORRUPT mouth! If your new buddy MBS wants you to blow him via a “gum job” you can certainly afford to have your teeth pulled and get dentures!
Eff pro golf. And given the both the trickle down effect to folks like me who can only afford some muni/public course (and I can’t even afford that anymore – not to mention my disability) and the eventual (sooner than you think I bet) on other sports I am so disgusted I’m not sure I’ll ever watch again.
Don’t ever forget. LIV didn’t make a DIME of profit. In fact they lost money hand over fist. Staggering amounts. But MBS didn’t care. Like the USSR when I was young, sports was a way to “market” his brand of government and gain a measure of international credibility. Sure, those of us in free countries knew they were fielding professionals in the Olympics while we and others were sending amateurs, just as we knew all along their athletes were “juiced” – taking performance enhancing drugs. But with a lot of countries the USSR’s efforts worked. That’s been MBS’s goal. His long-term plan.
He’s got the money and he just spend a ton of it bribing a few, very few in fact powerful people in the game of golf.
If Monahan and others don’t like being called WHORES then they shouldn’t have been exactly that.
You are right on the money!!! Hitler tried using the Olympics to clean up the nazis image before the world. Jesse Owens phucked up Hitler’s plan to prove the white race superior, while Hitler’s drug addicted arse sat in the stands with a hand tremor he couldn’t control. I called the PGA office to tell them I won’t pay a dollar for any event or merchandise with their logo. Hitler transformed the nice enlightened Christian Germans into a maniacal murdering military machine. They became soulless killers FOREVER staining the reputation of the German people. Question is: are we next? Time to throw blood, or red paint, at events these killers sponsor. Or, spill blood to stop them when they take over. The time to put out a fire is WHEN IT STARTS!!! Of course, what else should we expect from rich white boys?
I too called their office and got to leave a voicemail. I somehow willed myself not to drop f-bombs and other profanity but I didn’t more than once call out Monahan (and the few others that reporting indicated went rouge to make this deal) a WHORE. And that he’s collected a sum that would make the two hundred million MBS shelled out to Mickelson that got the ball rolling on defections from the PGA Tour (and DP too) rolling look like tip money. I hope, I really do that he chokes to death on that blood soaked money! He was oh so self-righteous last year standing with 911 victim’s families, pledging firmly and with no wiggle room that the PGA would NEVER accept that blood money! Also, he and others at the top management level of the two major tours were adamant about bans to players who defected to LIV would be lifetime. This afternoon we learned they can re-apply to the PGA and DP Tours after the 2023 season! I gather from watching Golf Channel while the meeting was taking place a LOT of players were P.O.d about THAT. I wouldn’t be surprised that since in addition to video he met with players at the tournament in Canada (will start Thursday) Monahan had several (at least) guards beefed up on the best and latest steroids (maybe what DeChambeau used?) holding bone saws.
If Tiger Woods came out and said I will never play in another PGA event or attend any ceremonies, that would make a statement. It would also guarantee the PGA will lose viewers, especially since the pros keep playing on the senior tour. I wonder if the KKK had bought out the PGA, whether all these rich boys would proudly sign up?
can the players revolt and create their own player-owned league?
There’s a thought! I hate agents. I really do. But some of the biggest name players have agents with the juice to get on the horn with the sponsors of all the tour events and also the TV networks. The theme would be similar to the Tour Player’s Championship – golf’s “fifth major” as it’s often called because the field is always one of the strongest. ONLY Tournament players, currently those with PGA TOUR membership cards are eligible for a spot in the field. A common them various players say in commercials promoting it each year is “This is OUR championship.” I think a theme of “This is OUR Tour” would go over well. A tour where the players would have total control over who sits on the Board and who manages the business end of things – complete with the ability to call a vote to fire someone who goes rogue like Monahan, Dunne and Herlihy just did. As more details have emerged it turns out Board head Herlihy was in the room the whole time and seems to have been the driver of the process. He also happens to be a partner in perhaps the law firm that the largest force in major mergers and acquisitions. As word of that spreads, and it sinks in on players that Herlihy either directly or indirectly via his law firm will get a HUGE financial commission/windfall who knows? I only started learning about Herlihy’s role in all this five or six hours ago and the stench is nauseaating. One last thing. The Tour (the PGA) is already on Congress and regulators radar and creating this huge new entity brings up major anti-trust issues. Getting approval won’t be any rubber stamp kind of thing. Given all the moving parts some entities and people with joiuce, both money and connections are going to feel they won’t be getting what they deserve and will throw sand in the gears. One of the initial bullet point being presented to PGA and DP Tour players is that all litigation will be terminated. I didn’t know until I heard a lawyer speak to this on Golf Channell but there will be some interesting technicalities to that. Practically the cuurts involved will get notice not only that the laussuits before them have been withdrawn but that provisions that they won’t be refiled at some future date will be sworn to. So, we’ll have a chicken vs. egg thing. On the one hand to resolve some of the many complex issues one or more of the three entities or their partner (especially the TV networks, but also some rich sponsers that fund multiple tournaments) will demand an end to the litigation for business stability. But once withdrawn the lawsuits can’t be refiled if the whole thing falls apart over some issue. Say when and how defectors to LIV will be allowed back on their old tours. Or what happens with TV rights. Or the charities that have gotten so much money over time and have come to depend on it object to changes and have their contracts voided. How well will it play to have some charity that works to renovate blighted eneighbohoods, or helps disable people or veterans get screwed to keep the powers happy? I for one would love it if the lawsuits are withdrawn and with prejudice as the lawyer I heard said they will need to be and in the end the whole deal falls apart. I’ll bet most of the PGA players would too.