“We have been let down once again” – 9/11 chair Terry Strada says survivors ‘appalled’ by Saudi-backed LIV Golf tour before Ground Zero event
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A 9/11 survivors’ group is “appalled” by the Saudi-backed LIV Golf circuit, which will stage its next tournament 80km from the attack site. 9/11 Families United president Terry Strada said holding a competition near the site of America’s worst terrorist attack is wrong. The third series begins July 29 at Trump National Bedminster. Bedminster and adjacent neighborhoods reacted after three hours of Saudi-funded terror.
Strada said, “Over 1,000 children, including my three, were orphaned when 750 innocent New Jersians were slaughtered. Friends, neighbors, and strangers comforted us.” 9/11 Families United member Alison Remy Crowther said Saudi Arabia must be held accountable for its “barbaric human rights crimes” if it wants “legitimacy on the world stage and to be viewed as world leaders. Matthew Bocchi, whose father John died in the attacks, said the group assembled “to voice our concerns about LIV and to indicate that we are not going away.” “We’re shocked, hurt, and disappointed,” he said.
9/11 survivors outraged by LIV Golf tour
Washington debated Saudi’s role in 9/11 LIV Golf. 15 al Qaeda hijackers were Saudi, although the government denies involvement. The 9/11 Commission found “no indication” that Saudi Arabia supported al Qaeda in 2004. Last year, the FBI produced a report summarising its investigation into suspected logistical aid a Saudi consular employee and a probable Saudi intelligence agent in Los Angeles supplied at least two hijackers.
LIV CNN’s Golf: “We’ve always condoled with them. Others may disagree, but golf is a global benefit.” 9/11 is a LIV Golf complaint. Greg Norman and Saudi Arabia’s Public Investment Fund front the team-based LIV series (PIF). It’s worth $250 million. 54-hole tournaments have no player cuts, unlike the PGA Tour. Phil Mickelson, Brooks Koepka, and Dustin Johnson joined LIV for the money and looser rules.
Strada said “sportsmen, especially Americans, were enthusiastic pawns in Saudi Arabia’s sports washing, a term for corrupt or despotic regimes using sport to launder their image abroad. Saudi Arabia funds LIV Golf’s multibillion-dollar PR swindle. By joining LIV, members collaborated with a 9/11-linked country.” She urged Biden and Norman to visit 9/11 Families United and answer questions.
Trump’s decision to host the tournament at his course “disappointed” her, but she conceded he wasn’t a key player. Last week, Trump told golfers to “take the money now”. “Golfers who stay ‘loyal’ to the treacherous PGA will pay a high price when the inevitable MERGER with LIV occurs,” Trump tweeted on Truth Social Monday. “If you don’t take the money now, you’ll make nothing after the merger and gloat about how sensible the original signatories were.”
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