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Fans have criticized PGA Tour Commissioner Jay Monahan over his old comments on LIV Golf, where he used families of 9/11 victims to shame players who defected to the Saudi-backed series.
On Tuesday, June 6, Jay Manohan and Yasir Al-Rumayyan of LIV Golf agreed to merge both circuits into a common entity, leaving many golf fans shocked. For the uninitiated, the PGA Tour had accused the Saudi-backed tour of blood money.
Last year, when several names decided to switch to a Saudi-backed tour, Monahan suspended them from playing on the PGA Tour with immediate effect. In an interview with CBS, he justified his decision by citing the pain of 9/11 victims.
He said:
"Well, I talked to players. I've talked at a player meeting, and I've talked to a number of players individually for a long period of time. And I think you'd have to be living under a rock to not know that there are significant implications.
"And as it relates to the families of 9/11, I have two families that are close to me that lost loved ones, and so my heart goes out to them. And I would ask, you know, any player that has left or any player that would ever consider leaving, have you ever had to apologize for being a member of the PGA Tour?"
However, the latest move by Monahan has upset fans. His interview from last year surfaced online again, and fans called him out for hypocrisy on Twitter. Here's a look at some of the reactions:
"Shocking he was lying. Shocking it's about money. I'm just shocked."
"'If you can't beat them, join them' PGA Motto since LIV Golf were too strong for them to defeat."
One user predicted a lot of players would switch to LIV in the coming days.
This user felt Monahan's problem was that he wasn't earning from LIV Golf.
"I watched that interview. It was shameful in my view. Only in golf do you get excoriated by the masses for trying to make more money. Now I’m sure they feel vindicated."
This fan criticized the merger and shared his disappointment in the PGA Tour's overlooking of Saudi Arabia's track record of human rights violations.
"I accept those criticisms" - Jay Monahan on being called a hypocrite after LIV Golf-PGA Tour merger
PGA Tour commissioner Jay Monahan said after the LIV Golf-PGA Tour merger that he was ready to accept the criticism from the fans. Monahan, who was a staunch critic of the Saudi-backed tour, announced the merger on Tuesday, leaving everyone shocked.
Jay Monahan was quoted as saying via Golfweek:
“I recognize that people are going to call me a hypocrite. Anytime I said anything, I said it with the information that I had at that moment, and I said it based on someone that’s trying to compete for the PGA Tour and our players.
"I accept those criticisms. But circumstances do change. I think that in looking at the big picture and looking at it this way, that’s what got us to this point."
