LIV Golf claims in a lawsuit that the PGA Tour secretly coordinated with families of the terror attacks on 9/11 to push accusations that the new golf league was engaged in “whitewashing” of Saudi Arabia’s part in the attacks in 2001.
When the Saudi-backed LIV golf league first announced its inaugural schedule, several 9/11 families claimed that the Saudi government was only floating the league as a way to legitimize itself on the international scene and would tend to whitewash the country’s part in the brutal terror attacks that killed three thousand Americans.
One prominent group, 911 Families United, blasted LIV, linking the golf league to the “depravity” of the Saudis.
Families of the victims of the September 11 attacks circle the North Tower pool at the 9/11 Memorial & Museum in New York City, United States, on the 21st anniversary of the attacks on September 11, 2022. (Lokman Vural Elibol/Anadolu Agency via Getty Images)
But in a lawsuit filed in the U.S. District Court for the District of Columbia on Tuesday, LIV contents that the PGA coordinated the accusations of the 9/11 families by hiring Washington public relations firm Clout Public Affairs LLC, “to front this campaign, insisting that Clout conceal the Tour’s orchestration of this effort,” the Wall Street Journal reported.
The filing charges that the PGA organized and funded the 9/11 family opposition to LIV by helping them protest at LIV tournaments.
PGA Tour Commissioner Jay Monahan addresses the media during a press conference before the Travelers Championship at TPC River Highlands on June 22, 2022, in Cromwell, Connecticut. (Michael Reaves/Getty Images)
Perhaps fueling the accusations, the PGA’s PR company has said it is “proud” to aid the 9/11 families in opposing LIV.
“Also, everyone knows the truth: LIV Golf is fully funded by the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia. We also helped some 9/11 victims and families get their voices out there, and as an American, a Marine veteran, and a golf fan, there are few causes I’m prouder to have worked on,” Clout’s president David Polyansky said in a statement.
9/11 Families United chair Terry Strada fully denied the claims by LIV, saying, “these accusations are outrageous.”
“Neither I nor 9/11 Families United took a penny from the PGA or anyone connected to golf. Over the past 21 years, I have dedicated literally thousands of hours of my own time into efforts to hold the Saudis accountable and am disgusted, but frankly not surprised, to see the Saudis attacking us personally today. Shame on them — again,” Strada added.
Clout is also protesting orders from the court to supply documents related to its work with the 9/11 families claiming that some of that contact may be for clients other than the PGA and they should not have to supply information that might expose other clients.
The PR firm also claimed the lawsuit was aimed at “chilling free speech” for the 9/11 families.
But LIV insists that this freedom of speech was not organic and real because the PGA instigated, funded, and planned it all as a PR attack on the rival golf league.
LIV has filed numerous lawsuits against the PGA, variously claiming that the PGA Tour is acting like a monopoly and illegally trying to ace the new league out of existence and illicitly punishing players who have joined the LIV.
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