Sportswashing with Golf
“The Saudis could not have picked a more insulting and painful place to hold a golf tournament.”
Oregon U.S. Senator Ron Wyden
Saudi Arabia has a great deal of oil, which means they have a great deal of money. When money is your available tool, that is what you use. Saudi Arabia is sponsoring golf tournaments that compete with the PGA's tournaments. Their LIV tournaments--Roman numerals for the 54-hole events--are noteworthy because of their lavish prize money, the fees paid to the golf courses, the caddies, and everyone else involved.
Some people argue that sports can be an avenue toward better relations, so the tournament is a good thing. We cannot stay angry with Saudi Arabia forever, right? Remember "Ping Pong Diplomacy" that preceded Nixon's trip to China? Critics call what Saudi Arabia is doing "sportswashing." It is blood money, $25 million dollars of it, using sports to obscure a grievance and create a veneer of normality and good will.
Jack Mullen is a friend from my youth. He is an athlete and sports fan. I leave unopened the sports sections of newspapers. He reads them. Oregon sports is in the national news.
Guest Post by Jack Mullen
Newshound that I am, in my several years now living in Washington D.C., I monitor whatever news from Oregon sails across the Continental Divide and packs a punch on the East Coast.
Sadly, the only Oregon news that resonates on the national scene are articles on the demise of Portland or the wildfires burning up the West. Occasionally, a Southern Oregon article appears, such as the implications of dam removals on the Klamath River. Oregon's presidential primaries had national significance and notice in the past, but this year’s three-headed race for governor so far rates little mention.
Sports brought notice to Oregon, even amid the news of Cassidy Hutchinson and the demise of Roe v. Wade. Mix in Saudi Arabia and the genteel sport of golf, and voila, you find commentators and editorials weighing-in on Oregon’s exclusive Pumpkin Ridge Golf Course in suburban Portland. What is to make of a Saudi-funded new golf tournament--its first tournament in the USA? Many had praised Saudi Prince Mohammed bin Salman n as a new, fresh, young leader, certain to deliver Saudi Arabia out of its social dark ages. Then Jamal Khashoggi disappeared and got dismembered and dissolved in Saudi hands. Biden called them a "pariah nation." Are they still a pariah nation? Are they ruining the PGA? Will they please sell the world more oil to bring gasoline price down?Franklin Roosevelt, in search of more oil to boost our war effort in 1945, charmed the pants off Saudi Arabian King Abdul Aziz ibn Saud on their meeting. The relationship enjoyed smooth sailing until a few bumps started to appear--such as the 1973 oil embargo and the rise of OPEC. That brought a recession, long lines at gas stations, and they tripled the price of gasoline at the pump, from 30 cents a gallon to 75 cents! Outrage. The fact that 15 of the 19 hijackers on 9/11 were Saudi nationals raised some more bumps, but the Bush Administration, in a deft move, refocused our ire on Saddam Hussein. After all, the Saudis have all that oil, and they are such great customers for American weapon manufacturers. The Saudi Sovereign Investment Fund spreads money around the globe, and we get our share and more. It includes an investment of $3.5 billion in a start-up called Uber, and $2 billion more to a start-up hedge fund created by America's own prince-in-law, Jared Kushner.
Portland, Oregon has a special history with Saudi Arabia, so it cannot be a coincidence they came to Portland of all places for their first USA tournament. In 2016 a Saudi exchange student on a government scholarship was driving 70 miles per hour in a 25-mile zone and killed a 15 year old girl in a hit-and-run incident. Cameras viewed it as did 25 eyewitnesses. The Saudi government put up the $1 million dollar bail so he could be released on home confinement. He cut the GPS monitor and a black SUV sped him to the Portland airport, where he disappeared, presumably flown back to Saudi Arabia. Oregonians were incensed. The story had no legs outside of Oregon.
It is interesting to note just how much some Americans are willing to tolerate having Saudi money infect the genteel sport of golf, while others abhor it. That is the news story: Mixed emotions. Already four mayors of Washington County and many Portlanders are boycotting the tournament held at the exclusive Pumpkin Ridge Golf Club. Many PGA golfers want no part of the LIV tournament, while others, including big name pro golfers, have few qualms about participating. Some Portlanders will don their golfing hats and attend the tournament, while others will boycott. This weekend the nation turns its weary eyes on Oregon.
Will this just be another blip in the history of Oregon, as all will be forgotten? Maybe so. The sportswashing continues. After all, the next Saudi-sponsored golf tournament will be held in September at the Trump National Bedminster Golf Course in New Jersey. The Saudis love that.