There’s one special group that is not happy with Augusta National’s decision to allow qualified LIV defectors into the 2023 Masters — and that would be 9/11 Families United.
The 9/11 Families United has protested LIV Golf from the beginning. The group released this statement regarding LIV players in the 2023 Masters:
“The only reason the Saudis launched LIV was to try to make the world forget who they are and what they did, including their role in 9/11,” the statement said. “Anyone who truly vowed to ‘never forget’ should be appalled by the decision by these golfers to put money ahead of their own country.”
This is not the first time 9/11 Families United has spoken out against LIV Golf. A press conference was held during the first LIV event in the United States, earlier this summer at Pumpkin Ridge Golf Club outside of Portland. Prior to that, the families involved sent a letter to Phil Mickelson and other LIV golfers criticizing their decisions, prompting Mickelson to respond during a press conference at the U.S. Open.
“I would say to everyone that has lost loved ones, lost friends on 9/11, that I have deep, deep empathy for them,” Mickelson said. “I can’t emphasize that enough. I have the deepest of sympathy and empathy for them.”
The connections between Saudi citizens and the 9/11 terrorist attacks are well-documented. Fifteen of the 19 hijackers during the attacks were confirmed to be Saudi citizens, according to an FBI report declassified by the United States government in 2021.
Because of these connections, as well as other human rights violations taking place in Saudi Arabia, LIV Golf has launched in 2022 amid criticism that it is a sports-washing system. The Saudis are using money to fund sports events in an effort to clean its reputation globally.
