by Rabbi David Sirull
I’ll never forget a local presentation that I attended some years ago, when the
Augusta Chamber of Commerce was trying to decide what their theme would be, in order to attract folks to the Garden City.
If I recall correctly, they began by asking people all over the state of Georgia what they associated with Augusta, and the results were predictable. A few restaurants were mentioned, a couple of hotels, a few golf courses… Then they surveyed people in other parts of the country and the majority of those who responded indicated golf as their number one answer. Perhaps it was 60 or 70 percent. Finally, they surveyed people all over the world, and about 95 percent of them said: golf. Once they realized there was no getting around it, the city’s slogan became: I Played Augusta.
Although I haven’t seen that slogan around recently, I imagine those statistics are still relevant.
Therefore, here in Augusta, you may even hear a pastor or rabbi preaching about golf! Why? So many have declared that this latest merger will be great for the game! Perhaps I opine a minority position, but I must admit that I am not thrilled about what is taking place.
The Saudis’ recent involvement in the golf arena is not a new strategy if its purpose is to distract the international community from their well-documented list of human rights violations. The dreadful assassination of Jamal Khashoggi in 2017 was not that long ago.
Do you remember how he was killed? He was drugged and choked to death. Afterward, his body was dismembered, beheaded and disposed of. As expected, the story eventually went away. Shortly thereafter, the Saudis diverted our attention to the beloved world of sports. This is a move that came from out of an old playbook and has resurfaced once again.
Many people may not be aware of the backstory to the 1936 Olympics in Berlin. The week before the arrival of journalists from all over the world to cover the event in what Adolf Hitler was calling the “New Germany,” something very important needed to occur. He was unthinkably wicked, but not stupid.
All of the ant-semitic signage that lined the streets had to be removed. All of the stores took down their “No Jews Allowed” posters. Der Shturmer, the awful anti-Jewish newspaper and all of the hateful propaganda was taken out of the newsstands. The public physical abuse was halted temporarily. The writers and photographers were treated to a real show. The New York Times commended Hitler and wrote: “a good job well done” and said that the games would result in “undoubted improvement of world relations and great amiability.”
In reality, nothing could have been further from the truth. The end result of WWII was the horrific murder of tens of millions of innocent people.
Another example that can be cited is the millions of dollars that were paid to Muhammad Ali and Joe Frazier to fight the “Thrilla in Manilla.” What prompted Ferdinand Marcos, the former president of the Philippines, to invest all that money in this blockbuster sporting event? To quote Sports Illustrated: “It was to show that Manilla was no longer an outlaw city, that foreign investment was secure, that martial rule was a cleansing instrument.” It was the next episode of “sportswashing.”
Back in the days of Apartheid in South Africa, they attempted to employ the very same technique. They offered large sums of money in order to lure athletes to perform in their land. Some refused, while others were happy to accept the large paychecks. Interestingly, some declined and went so far as to establish and/or support organizations such as “Artists and Athletes Against Apartheid.” The famous boxing promoter, Don King, was among them. However, when the offers increased and the price was right, they joined forces and morality seemed to take a back seat. How many people realize that Ronaldo, the Brazilian soccer star, is the highest paid athlete in the world? Why? The Saudis have convinced him to play for their team at a salary of $75 million per year. Once again, money talks.
Last year, Jay Monahan declared that “the LIV is making an unfair attempt to buy the game of golf.” This month, he referred to this new merger as “historic” and the Saudis and “visionaries.” For some of us, it seems to be “sportswashing” at its finest and nothing new. There probably isn’t much that we, the fans, can do, but let’s be aware of what’s happening. Good for golf? Good for the world? I have my doubts, but I suppose we’ll have to wait and see.
