Why The LIV Tour Will Continue To Exist

Although we would all like to be the best versions of ourselves every day, outside forces and unimaginable riches tempt even the strongest of characters. With the announcement of the LIV Golf Tour, the new Saudi Arabian backed tour, Americans are getting their first taste of Saudi wealth influencing their entertainment leagues and what it’s doing to humans they believe would act otherwise. The area of conflict lies directly with Saudi Arabia and their publicly harsh history of human rights violations, most notably the death of a US reporter in 2018. Whether you believe what Saudi Arabia and their current leaders are doing is wrong or not, joining this league doesn’t make the participants bad people and certainty shouldn’t condemn them to more critique than others.

But how did we get here?

While this situation seems to be unique to America, the idea of Saudi backed sports has existed elsewhere, and most notably European soccer, for a while now. The debate is, and will, continue to go on for years just as the ownership of these clubs by Saudi billionaires does. Basically, if the state continues to exist with no major altercations, the sports leagues they produce and the citizens that wish to spend their billions elsewhere will be able to continue to do so no problem. It then becomes an issue for the athlete or participant in this league and if they personally are fine with taking money from the regime. For reference on the amount of money being thrown around in the inaugural year of the LIV Tour, Tiger Woods is golfs highest career earner by far, earning close to $170 million in his career from his placements. The average contract accepted by the 17 former PGA golfers just to join the LIV was around $200 million. A lot of athletes may love the sport that they play and do it solely for that, but for the majority of athletes you play the game to make money and capitalize on your abilities.

At the end of the day, it’s a personal decision that these athletes have to make if they want to associate their brand to the Saudi reputation. As I stated in the beginning, in an ideal world this wouldn’t occur, but we are from an ideal world and these athletes are making the decisions that are best for them and their families. They’re simply taking what’s there’s to take and dealing with the ramifications as they do so. In opposition, the argument would be these elevated members of society that have platforms to spread good should be making the right decision and not join the LIV tour. However, to say American sports have never been corrupt and not raise questions at athletes taking money from questionable sources here state side, would be hypocrisy. Who are we to argue what is more wrong than another and even if we could, does one evil make another one less? This league would continue to exist without the addition of the 17 PGA Tour golfers, many of whom haven’t won an event in years. Although the PGA is losing some big names, the business model is still intact and if anything, this is exposing another part of the world to some of the biggest names in golf. The game is growing, maybe not in the most ideal way but it is growing in a major way.

Most Americans, I believe, have no clue what the leadership of Saudi Arabia or the culture of the region is at all. I’m a history minor and a geography buff myself, and I’ll be the first to admit I’m a little foggy on the topic. But the disparity between Western culture here in the US and the Eastern Islamic culture of Saudi Arabia is drastic in certain areas. Here in the US, we rarely have such public relationships with Saudi Arabia and a direct look into the products they produce. So although the money source is sketchy, shouldn’t this collaboration be celebrated, and at the very least, be allowed to continue?

Not ideal? Yes. Hypocritical from the Tour? Easily.

Maybe it’s a pessimistic outlook, but there are always going to be countries, establishments and organizations that you won’t see eye to eye on. Instead of complaining and boycotting the LIV Tour, maybe do some research or turn your attention elsewhere. There are Americans that support the LIV Tour and there are Saudis that disapprove of it, just because your opinion is in the majority doesn’t make you right, it just makes you loud. The PGA Tour doesn’t have a problem with the 23 Saudi sponsors that rake in about $40 billion for them, so why should we be mad when individuals do the same thing.

I like to think I hold myself to high morals and I truly want to create the most change I can, but $200 million is $200 million.