So, what are those incidents of successful sport washing? I don't think any better of Saudi, Russia and China....and I don't think others do. I haven't seen evidence of successful sport washing. I see plenty evidence of all levels of society taking dirty money which has been going on since there was dirty money to be had. But again, I am sure there are cases where a country is now seen in a positive light by much of the world when if fact it still has a terrible human rights record.
Ciao
We really should set all this aside and see how things develop. Let's not get too far into the weeds and find that the admonition of the "pot calling the kettle black" points right back at us.
I can understand why Rory and others at the top of professional golf as well as people living lavishly in their orbit (e.g. Brandel Chamblee who apparently has added a new word in his repetitive commentary- "existential") are so alarmed. It is their platform to riches, fame, meaning, raison d'etre which is being challenged beyond their immediate control.
Google "projection" and see if it applies here. Anyone on a lucrative Nike endorsement contract who has the gall to throw SA's human rights record at the face of the LIV Tour and its players probably falls into one of these: totally lacking in self-awareness, ignorant, or just being a common, ordinary hypocrite.
It is all about "the Benjamins" and the very natural reaction to competition which might disrupt our own pursuit of a somewhat entitled lifestyle. Remember, money is fungible. Do we want to put our own sources and uses under a similar microscope?
I know a few people pretty well who work in the sovereign wealth sphere in the Middle East. To suggest that the LIV Tour is a mega loss leader for the Saudis to save face/curry favor with the increasingly selectively "liberal" West betrays a terrible combination of arrogance and naivete about how the world works. Two things many informed, influential people in the ROW have learned are that our positions on any number or issues are situational, and unlike inflation today, transitory.
True, not every deal has to have a high IRR, but as part of an overall strategy (what perhaps Tim Martin was alluding to), the bottom line and the future are indeed the objective. SA, unlike our own short term election-oriented government and Wall Street's quarterly report focus, has a much longer term approach. Those in control know their strengths, threats, and opportunities. I would not bet against their business approach nor their will to survive in what is a very illiberal time for their long time allies.
If we look at these people and their cultures derisively as inherently inferior, our "free lunch" of the past 60 years will become increasingly unsustainable, maybe even close to Chamblee's "existential". It was not SA or Venezuela who came to the U.S. begging to sell us more oil. It was the man who campaigned on ending the carbon economy and, to his credit, has managed to make a large down payment on that promise in 17 months who is now crawling to these unsavory regimes with his hands out.
I don't want to see a war of attrition with LIV. Perhaps the Tour bureaucracy has superior information at their space-age headquarters to suggest that LIV won't live long. But, I suspect, that even if LIV fails, some changes will be necessary. Either the Tour is a meritocracy or a closed shop with a strong, well-paid staff and peripheral support organizations benefiting from the status quo to the exclusion of others who may indeed bring positive change to the game.
Nicklaus, Woods, and any number of top performers didn't enjoy playing much more than 15 tournaments annually. Family values in that segment of society have become more important- it is as well at the country club level where fathers no longer spend all weekend at the club playing golf and cards. Certainly there must be a way to have a more open access to the various tours throughout the world which could indeed grow the game. Change and competition, supposedly we are all for it, unless it is disruptive at a personal level, i.e. good for everyone else.
