Phil Mickelson is taking the blood money and running to the Saudis | Opinion
Say goodbye to Phil Mickelson, everyone. Say goodbye to his reputation, his soul, his character, his good name.
Say goodbye to whatever you once thought of him, how much you liked him, what a good guy he was.
Phil — good ol’ thumbs-up Phil — announced Monday that he is going into business with murderers.
Mickelson, who turns 52 later this month, said he will play in this week’s LIV Golf tournament in London, joining the inaugural event of the much-discussed and universally-criticized Saudi golf league, which is funded by the people who killed and dismembered Washington Post columnist Jamal Khashoggi in 2018.
Phil failed to mention that fact in his cheerful press release announcing the news on social media. He talked about a “new path,” and “a fresh start.” He said he thinks the tournament will be “exciting for fans,” and allows him to “focus on a healthier approach to life on and off the course,” whatever that means.
It certainly could be true that hanging out with some of the worst people in the world can make you look better by comparison. You can say to yourself, “Hey, I’m not personally a murderer. I feel better already.”
In addition to failing to mention that his business partner will now be Saudi crown prince Mohammed bin Salman, who sanctioned the killing of Khashoggi, according to human rights organizations and intelligence services, Mickelson neglected to talk about the money MBS is paying him.
If Dustin Johnson received an estimated $125 million to decimate his reputation forever, Phil probably got the same, or more. This kind of free money can be a big help if it’s true that Phil has huge gambling debts, as has been widely reported.
He certainly wasn’t going to get that kind of cash here in the United States. Here, he would actually have to play well, make cuts and do the work to earn money on the PGA Tour. Phil clearly doesn’t want to do any of that anymore. He also apparently doesn’t want to face the golf fans in America when he can rub elbows with murderers around the world. Of course he took the money and ran. He took the easy way out.
Plus, his sponsors abandoned him when he made his first attempt at “sportswashing” for MBS and the Saudis in February, saying in the new book, “Phil: The Rip-Roaring (and Unauthorized!) Biography of Golf’s Most Colorful Superstar” that they “killed Khashoggi" and have a “horrible record on human rights,” and “execute people over there for being gay.”
Continued Phil: “Knowing all of this, why would I even consider it? Because this is a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity to reshape how the PGA Tour operates.”
That comment came to light nearly four months ago and it still is just as horrifying as it was in February. My goodness, what the public has learned about Mickelson:
Conscience? None. Values? Terrible. Ethics? Nonexistent.
Buried deep in his announcement Monday, Phil had something else to say: “I also intend to play the majors.”
This is where things will get very interesting very quickly. The U.S. Open is next week near Boston. The U.S. Golf Association should ban Mickelson and his greedy, unprincipled pals from playing, but so far, the organization hasn’t said a thing.
The PGA Tour is expected to kick out all these guys, hopefully for life, on Thursday when play officially begins in the Blood Money Open. But if the USGA, Augusta National Golf Club, the Royal and Ancient Golf Club and the PGA of America don’t do the same, they will leave the PGA Tour hanging, giving Phil and Co. — and MBS — a huge win.
What a terrible message that would be, sent by golf’s powers that be. Over the years, the leaders of golf haven’t stood up for much of anything as the game discriminated against Blacks and women for decades. One wonders if they truly have it in them to do the right thing now.
This article originally appeared on USA TODAY: Phil Mickelson is taking blood money and running Saudi golf league
