This is not a golf story, this is the story of society, of everybody. When are we going to say no to the almighty dollar, when are we going to guard the integrity of our organizations. When are we going to stand up for what is right as opposed to looking the other way?
And it's not only golfers... Enough with the lionization of billionaires. Just because they have money, that doesn't make them moral, right, or better thinkers than the rest of us.
So in case you're out of the loop...
The LIV golf tour was started by the Saudi Arabia sovereign wealth fund. No, Saudi Arabia doesn't care about golf, and it's not even concerned with the money involved. It just wants to enhance its image. It's advertising. Like the oil companies on PBS. I had a professor in law school who called it the Petroleum Broadcasting Network. And that's certainly what it was back then.
As for Saudi Arabia...
In case you don't follow international news, and too many people in America don't follow national news, never mind accurate national news, Crown Prince Mohammed Bin Salman took over Saudi Arabia in a power struggle wherein he detained, killed and disappeared family members. This is what happens when one person, seemingly always a man, runs an authoritarian state. His competitors for power, never mind the people, are subject to his whims. And this can mean death. Like Khashoggi.
You remember Khashoggi, right?
Or maybe your news network didn't focus on the story.
Khashoggi was a "Washington Post" reporter who was killed, dismembered, upon the order of Bin Salman. But that didn't bother Phil Mickelson.
Always seen as the runner-up to Tiger Woods, "good guy" Phil, in truth Mickelson has a gargantuan gambling habit. He always needs money.
As for having wealth... That's what the poor, the underclass, the middle class don't understand. YOU NEVER HAVE ENOUGH MONEY! Money is status, money is power. And the people who have it want more, enough is never enough.
So, Phil Mickelson took two hundred million from Saudi Arabia, to play in its LIV golf tournament.
Dustin Johnson got around $125 million.
And they're not the only ones. Other name golfers got double digit millions to play in the LIV golf tournaments which are a farce.
It's only three days. 54 holes. And appearance money is guaranteed. So it really doesn't matter who wins. And so far, those who've taken the big money to sign haven't. I mean what difference does it make?
So that intense competition you see on television, not that the ratings are high... The game itself has been undermined.
It'd be like starting a new baseball league with the players making more than anyone ever did to play in six inning games with no consequences.
Not that the LIV golfers like the fact that they're now excluded from PGA events. They sued to be able to participate. The judge was told irreparable harm was done by excluding them. And what did the judge say? She couldn't see the economic harm, after all they'd taken all that money from the Saudis! There was no economic harm.
This is not the ABA. Or the WHL... Where demand exceeds supply. Where cities want teams and cannot get them. And despite certain names being led to these upstart leagues, mostly they're populated by those who couldn't make the big league. The AFL had better players, but once again, demand exceeded supply. Are people angry there are not enough golf tournaments? No! You can play in a major tournament around the world every weekend, sometimes two!
There's the European Tour and...
It costs a lot to play. Travel expenses are extremely high.
Then again, we're talking about an elite few. Not everybody can play sports at a major league level. And we can argue that the underlings, the wannabes, those in the farm team system, should be paid higher wages, but the issue in major sports leagues today is not that the pros, the stars, are not making enough money. LIV thought it could take the cream off the top and get the rest of the players and the PGA to cave.
So far it hasn't happened. Rory McIlroy and Tiger Woods have said no. As well as the PGA organization itself.
So I could blame Saudi Arabia for starting LIV... But it would have been nothing without the golfers. And it's not like they're unaware of LIV's sins. Phil Mickelson acknowledged them!
But all that money...
Then again, it used to be you couldn't make this much money. There weren't all these billionaires in America. Most people didn't even know the names of the rich, never mind admire them, never mind paying attention as their whims whipsawed America.
Yes, I'm talking about Elon. And Jeff Bezos. And Howard Schultz. The biggest pain in the rear end for Amazon and Starbucks is their employees, who want to unionize, for better pay and working conditions. These execs all have their billions, but the little people must suffer.
But most people admire these wankers.
And can't say no to the money.
And it's not only the lower class, but the middle class too. And it's not only about taking what's offered, but wanting ever lower taxes, no taxes at all. That's my money! The government is illegal! The government wastes money! When in truth everybody is sucking at the government tit 24/7. Driving on the road? Calling the police or the fire department? Asking for money in an environmental disaster? You rely on the government, EVERYBODY DOES!
And if you don't have money you get no respect.
And therefore, those with the most money win.
That's the world we now live in. An endless rat race. A greased pole that only a few can climb. The rest are told to play the lottery, which is all about money, the odds of winning are infinitesimal, it's a tax on the poor.
But the advantages are hyped, as opposed to the disadvantages.
And why do we have lotteries? To fill the government coffers that are reduced because people don't want to pay taxes. So the poor have to pay them. Elon Musk and Jeff Bezos and Howard Schultz don't buy lottery tickets, believe me.
And Donald Trump hosted a LIV tournament at his course in New Jersey that the PGA stripped a major tournament from.
It's only corporations that have power these days. They're the only ones with enough money. They need to take a stand. As for the individual? You ain't got enough money to get your representatives' attention, they're all beholden to that big donor money. They just tell you to vote. But that doesn't usually work anyway. There's gerrymandering, lines at the ballot box, they're making it harder to vote so the minority can continue to rule. Meanwhile, the public shrugs. I mean I can't blame people for tuning out, the game is rigged against them. Like the corporations that insist you go to arbitration as opposed to court. All the attention is on trial lawyers, when in truth it's court cases, class actions, that keep the corporations in line. That's our tool.
But we can never win. The carried interest rule stays on the books, because Kyrsten Sinema took money from the fat cats and has to vote their way.
So the LIV golfers are just a symptom. And the PGA and Rory McIlroy and Tiger Woods are standing up for you!
Not that there's not enough money in golf anyway. The purses pale in comparison to the endorsement/sponsorship money.
So can I convince you to not take the money? To stop respecting the rich?
Balzac said that behind every great fortune lies a great crime. If you know any of the truly wealthy...you'll see this is often the case.
And just because people are smart in one vertical, their business, that does not mean they're smart in any other. And they say one thing and do another and...
Used to be you went to college to broaden your horizons, to learn how to analyze, to become a better citizen. Now? It's a value proposition that boils down to money. College is a glorified trade school. Parents want to know when kids graduate they'll get good jobs. What you learn? Who cares! Many of the jobs these graduates end up taking don't even require a college education. But that has become the ticket to entry. And everything is about the money.
And everybody wants their kid to go to an elite college for the relationships. But people think they're priced out, not realizing all the elite institutions are need blind, if you get in and don't have the cash, it's free!
Not that the rich want you to know this.
They just want to keep you down as they rape and pillage and gain ever more power.
Hell, unions have a bad name. Credit Ronald Reagan.
End result?
All the car companies moved to the south, to start over without unions. Foreign companies came to South Carolina, or Alabama, screw those who want better wages.
It all comes down to money, and someone has to blow the whistle.
It's not black and white, the PGA can be improved. But it must not be subsumed by a rich country trying to wash away its sins by supporting sports.
No way.
You should know. You should know so much more.
And you should think before you take that money. Because when you do, they own you. You can't say anything negative, you lose your freedom of speech. Oh, you can exercise it, but you're immediately excised.
The world is entrenched in a moral crisis. And it's all about money. That's how authoritarians gain power, it's always about the money. They demonize others, say they're taking your money...
But you can't even learn about the horror of authoritarians when "The Diary of Anne Frank" is banned from school shelves.
Someone has to stand up.
No, check that, to enact change, everybody has to stand up.
And it won't be the rich. Or those beholden to them. It will be about you, the rank and file. First be aware of what is going on. Second, stand up for truth, justice and the American way. Because we haven't had that spirit here since at least 1979, and our nation is worse for it.
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