US Senate Democrats demand investigations into PGA-LIV golf merger
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Critics have cited worries over a monopoly and accusations of human rights abuses in LIV Golf owner Saudi Arabia.
PHOTO: AFP
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WASHINGTON – United States Senate Democrats are demanding investigations into the surprise merger this week between Saudi Arabia-owned LIV Golf and the PGA Tour,
Several echoed families of victims of the Sept 11, 2001, terrorist attacks, who have long said that Saudi Arabia has failed to fully answer questions on any role it may have played in the attacks.
No. 2 Senate Democrat Dick Durbin on Wednesday recalled Saudi officials’ refusal to comply with investigations in the wake of 9/11, when he served on the Senate Intelligence Committee.
“I have this arms-length attitude towards Saudi Arabia,” he told reporters.
Senator Richard Blumenthal said in an interview with Bloomberg Television that the US Department of Justice should investigate the “absolutely abhorrent” deal. Such an investigation, he said, could ultimately block the merger.
“These PGA officials owe not only an apology, they owe support to the 9/11 families in their quest for justice against Saudi Arabia,” Mr Blumenthal said.
Fellow Democrat Chris Murphy, who sits on the Senate Foreign Relations Committee, blasted the deal, saying it puts “a foreign dictatorship in charge of a major US sports league”.
Saudi Arabia’s Public Investment Fund governor Yasir Al-Rumayyan will be the new entity’s chairman.
Mr Murphy also pointed to the legal dispute between the two golf leagues
The PGA filed a lawsuit that had already dragged in families of victims of the 9/11 attacks. The parties said on Tuesday that the proposed partnership would end all pending litigation.
“The PGA was up here on (Capitol) Hill asking us to join with them in fighting back against the Saudis’ attempt to paper over their human rights record,” Mr Murphy said. “Now they’re willing and enthusiastic to provide that same service to the Saudi government.”
The two organisations have resisted calling the deal a merger.
Senate Finance Committee chairman Ron Wyden vowed to launch his own investigation, to probe – among other issues – whether the merger would give Saudis unfair access to US real estate.
“This is a shameless, hypocritical cash grab,” Mr Wyden said. “I feel very strongly about this as do my constituents.”
Republicans, however, questioned whether Congress should get involved in the matter.
Republican leader Mitch McConnell said on Wednesday that the merger is “not a governmental concern”.
Senator Ron Johnson, a self-professed avid golf watcher, said he was shocked by the deal but said Congress “should just stay the hell out of sports”.
Mr Johnson said that as a fan, he has mixed feelings about the merger of the two leagues.
“We’re missing these guys on the tour,” he said of the players who left the PGA for lucrative LIV payouts. “It will be fun to see an LIV guy go up against Rory McIlroy,” he added, referring to a PGA star.
But he also said he recognised that Saudi ownership could turn off some fans and anger players
Mr Marco Rubio, top Republican on the Senate Intelligence Committee, dismissed the merger as a private business deal.
“What are they going to do with it, start a war with golf?” said Mr Rubio, who neither plays nor watches the sport. “I mean it’s a private company. PGA can merge with whoever they want.”
Other Republicans, however, said they expect the deal to be reviewed by the Committee on Foreign Investment in the United States and other entities.
“It causes a little bit of heartburn,” said Senator Mitt Romney. BLOOMBERG, REUTERS
