LIV Golf CEO Greg Norman announced that he will visit Capitol Hill this week to speak with lawmakers from both sides about the new league, its ties to Saudi Arabia, and accusations that the PGA Tour is operating as an illegal world monopoly. golf.
“LIV Golf will be on The Hill this week to meet with lawmakers from both sides,” LIV Golf spokesman Jonathan Grella told ESPN. “Given the PGA Tour’s attempts to stall our progress in reinventing the game, we think it’s important to educate members on LIV’s business model and counter the Tour’s anti-competitive efforts.”
Norman and LIV accused the PGA Tour of illegally preventing the official world golf rankings from including LIV players in the rankings of the world’s best golfers. PGA Tour CEO Jay Monahan is a board member of the golf rating organization.
LIV sued the PGA in an antitrust suit, alleging that the tour illegally suspended players who jumped ship and participated in LIV’s first tournament season. LIV also accuses the Tour of pressuring golf dealers, agents and sponsors to avoid LIV.
The Justice Department also launched an investigation into the PGA Tour’s actions to determine whether the league was operating as an illegal monopoly.
Norman said he was once willing to talk to Monahan and the PGA, but that never happened again. As he told ESPN, “Honestly, we’re not interested in sitting with them because our product works.”
LIV has been criticized for receiving support from the Saudi Arabian State Investment Fund due to human rights issues in the Arab country. Norman is also likely to answer questions about these connections during his Washington DC visit.
Source: Breitbart
