“We don’t kill gays, I’ll just tell you” - LIV Golf chief speaks about Phil Mickelson's 'scary motherf****' remarks during interview
Phil Mickelson stirred up a major controversy earlier in the year by making some strong comments about the Saudi Arabian administration. The American golfer criticized the Saudis and reportedly called them 'scary motherf*****s', referring to the murder of Washington Post journalist Jamal Khashoggi and the country’s treatment towards the LGBT community.
The comments, claimed to have been made in an interview with his biographer Alan Shipnuck, started a major conversation when they were published.
Mickelson almost ended the Saudi Arabian group's involvement in golf even before the inception of LIV Golf. The strong statement made potential PGA Tour rebels rethink their decision. However, Mickelson later came forward to deny giving the interview and said that the comments were ’taken out of context'.
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Golf Saudi Federation CEO on the damaging comments by Phil Mickelson
Phil Mickelson’s harsh comments about his current Middle Eastern bosses went viral. It also earned him the title of ‘hypocrite’ as he went on to join LIV Golf.
Months after this, Majed Al Sorour, the CEO of the Golf Saudi Federation, has now come out to address Mickelson’s comments. Sorour, who is worth approximately £500billion, spoke about the comments and damage caused by it.
The Golf Saudi Federation CEO, who is also the director of football club Newcastle United, revealed that Mickelson's comments made players walk away from the new series. Sorour was speaking in an interview when he stated that the golfer’s attack on the kingdom made the LIV executives change their approach to the league.
Speaking to The New Yorker, the Golf Saudi Federation CEO recalled his conversation with Public Investment Fund (PIF) kingpin Yasir Al-Rumayyan. He then claimed that the comments made were pointless. He said:
"They called me a scary motherf******. We don’t kill gays, I’ll just tell you that. I called the boss Rumayyan, I said, ‘Everyone’s walking away. Do you want to do it, or not?’ amd Rumayyan replied, ‘Get the biggest mediocres, get the ten that we have, get you and I, and let’s go play for $25million.”
According to the executive, it was Rumayyan’s decision to press ahead despite the damaging comments made by Phil Mickelson. They were quick to announce the LIV Golf launch. Following this, Mickelson was accused of hypocrisy as he soon joined the Saudi-backed rebel tour as well.
Phil Mickelson denies giving controversial interview
Ever since his defection, Mickelson has been a part of all LIV events till date. Having moved for a reported paycheck of $200 million, the ace golfer also became the poster boy of the new series.
It is also pertinent to note that Mickelson also attacked the PGA Tour. During his February interview, the 2021 PGA Tour championship winner slammed the traditional American tour and termed it to be "manipulative and coercive." After he landed in trouble for the comments, Mickelson issued a statement denying the interview.
He recently reiterated that he “never did” an interview with Shipnuck. Calling himself a major supporter of the rebel series, Mickelson said that his conversation with Shipnuck was done off the record.
Interesting moment from Phil's LIV presser in Saudi Arabia. Asked about his previous comments about Saudi, he answers:
"So I will reiterate, I never did an interview with Alan Shipnuck." https://t.co/fLIrlkyJe5
Speaking at a press conference on October 13, Phil Mickelson said:
“I never did an interview with Alan Shipnuck. And I find that my experience with everybody associated with LIV Golf has been nothing but incredibly positive and I have the utmost respect for everybody that I've been involved with.”
This garnered more criticism for the golfer as the comments came months after he apologized for the harsh statements.