PGA Tour commissioner Jay Monahan continues attempting to spin their stunning merger with LIV Golf, and continues to prove how bad he is at doing so.
On Tuesday, news broke that the PGA Tour was merging with Saudi Arabia’s Public Investment Fund, which financed LIV Golf. The announcement came as a surprise after Monahan repeatedly bashed LIV and used a 9/11 survivors’ group as a prop to shame golfers departing for the Saudi-backed tour. One year later, Monahan played an integral role in uniting the PGA and LIV. After the merger was announced, the 9/11 Families United issued a statement, blasting Monahan for his gross hypocrisy.
“PGA Commissioner Jay Monahan co-opted the 9/11 community last year in the PGA’s unequivocal agreement that the Saudi LIV project was nothing more than sportswashing of Saudi Arabia’s reputation,” the statement reads. “But now the PGA and Monahan appear to have become just more paid Saudi shills, taking billions of dollars to cleanse the Saudi reputation so that Americans and the world will forget how the Kingdom spent their billions of dollars before 9/11 to fund terrorism.”
Wednesday morning, Monahan joined the Golf Channel and was asked to respond to the 9/11 Families’ statement.
In an interview on Golf Channel, Jay Monahan stumbles though an attempt to defend his hypocrisy regarding the use of 9/11 families as a talking point against LIV Golf. pic.twitter.com/6blmZd8kDg
— Awful Announcing (@awfulannouncing) June 7, 2023
“I think about the fact that I allowed confidentiality to prevail here,” Monahan claimed. “And in allowing confidentiality to prevail, I did not communicate to very important constituents, including the families of 9/11, and I regret that. I really do. But as we sit here today, I think it’s important to reiterate that I feel like the move that we’ve made and how we move forward, is in the best interest of our sport.”
It’s shocking that Monahan did the interview without having a more rehearsed or illusive response. Monahan spent about 80 seconds attempting to address the topic and the most reasonable takeaway is that he was unprepared for a question everyone knew was coming. As he stammered through his answer, trying to claim he was inhibited by confidentiality, the PGA Tour commissioner awkwardly and uncomfortably defended being a hypocrite. Monahan’s answer to the 9/11 survivors’ group was ultimately empty, as was his offer of regret.
