LIV Golf: What is ‘Sportwashing’ and is LIV a part of it?

Now that the LIV Golf’s inaugural event is officially underway, we are getting a better idea of the golfers that are choosing to side with the Greg Norman-led event.

With the early commitments from Dustin Johnson, Phil Mickelson, and Sergio Garcia, fellow golfers are beginning to follow in their steps, most recently Americans Bryson DeChambeau and Patrick Reed.

With hundreds of millions of dollars being essentially thrown at these golfers, conspiracy theories are starting to surface about the exact purpose of this league. The main one being the term ‘sportswashing’, so what exactly does this mean?

The new term ‘sportswashing’ can be defined as:

"“In short, the term is used when an individual, group, corporation, or nation-state uses sport to improve its reputation and public image.At nation-state level, it is generally used to direct attention away from a poor human rights record.”"

There have actually been multiple cases of ‘sportswashing’ throughout history, including many cases within the Premier Football League, and involving Germany back in 1936 when they hosted the Olympics, the belief was that the Olympics were used to push forward ‘Nazi’ propaganda.

In this case, we all know that Saudi Arabia is known for the mistreatment of its women, children, and immigrants. There have been cases of mass murders and despicable treatment of their journalists, so many believe that these Saudi Arabian investors are using this new LIV Golf Tour to create a more appealing appearance of their country.

By signing these well-respected and talented golfers to their Tour, these golfers are directly representing this league and indirectly representing these investors.

Throughout the week in the build-up to the first day of the inaugural LIV Golf event, many reporters have asked the golfers, most notably Phil Mickelson, whether or not they saw themselves as a tool in this supposed ‘sportswashing’ scandal.

Phil Mickelson:

"“I don’t condone human rights violations at all. Nobody here does … throughout the world. And I’m certainly aware of what has happened with Jamal Khashoggi and I think it’s terrible.”“I don’t know how else I can be any more clear. Again, I love this game of golf, I’ve seen the good that it’s done and I see the opportunity for LIV Golf to do a lot of good for the world and I’m excited to be a part of this opportunity.”"

One reporter even went as far as to ask a group of golfers whether or not they would play in a Tour led by Vladimir Putin, but it was clear that they would not engage saying:

Ian Poulter:

"“That’s just speculation, I’m not even going to comment on speculation…I don’t need to answer that question.”"

Lee Westwood:

"“You’re just asking us to answer hypothetical questions, which we can’t answer.”"

While I’m sure that for the majority of the field, they see this as an opportunity to make much more money and play fewer events, they are just here to play golf after all. Personally, I get that.

Others are simply at the tail-end of their career and are looking to continue playing at a high level.

Martin Kaymer:

"“I won’t play on the PGA Tour next year because I won’t have enough tournaments this year, so I will only compete on the European Tour, and there was a great opportunity to play a different kind of golf with different kinds of golf tournaments.”"

However, there must be something in the back of their mind that thinks they might be a tool in this whole ‘sportswashing’ ideology.

Many might wonder how that will weigh on them as the weeks go on, as they might face tough criticism when some return to the United States for the U.S. Open next week.

So far, it looks like LIV Golf is off to a good start, which could spell trouble for Jay Monahan and the PGA Tour going forward.

As golfers witness the success and vast amounts of money on offer with each LIV Golf event, there is an increasing chance that more golfers will seriously consider making the switch as well. Only one way to find out, as this weekend and the coming weeks are set to be very interesting.