Families of 9/11 victims launch fresh protest against LIV Golf ahead of team championship in Miami

Following the end of its regular season, LIV Golf now heads to Trump National Doral for the final event. The LIV team championship, set to be held at the golf club owned by former US President Donald Trump in Miami from October 28 to 30 has drawn criticism from some people, particularly a group of 9/11 families.

As the series heads into its final event of the season, family members of victims of the September 11, 2001 attacks have launched a fresh campaign against it. The families of the victims have come forward to protest the event over its links to the Saudi Arabian royal family. The advocacy group 9/11 Justice criticized the circuit in a television advertisement and set up multiple meetings against it.

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Families of 9/11 victims launch fresh protest against LIV

Ahead of the Miami tournament, the families’ of 9/11 victims have come together to protest the LIV Golf event. The group involved is set to host a news conference on Thursday while urging former US President Donald Trump to cut all ties with the controversial series. As per the protestors, the series must be banned due to its connection with the Saudi Arabian royal family.

It is pertinent to note that this protest is the continuation of an earlier campaign against the series. For the unversed, 15 of the 19 hijackers involved in the September 11 attacks were from Saudi Arabia. However, the Saudi royal family has continually denied any links to the attack that killed nearly 3,000 people.

However, protesters claim that the golf series, bankrolled by Saudi Arabia's Public Investment Fund, is an attempt at "sportswashing." According to them, the kingdom is attempting to improve its reputation despite receiving criticism for blatant human rights violations. It is also noteworthy that the Saudi Arabian administration is infamous for having multiple human rights abuse cases against them.

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Criticism against LIV Golf continues

This isn’t the first time protests have emerged against a LIV Golf event. Earlier in June, a group called 9/11 Families United sent an open letter condemning golfers who joined LIV Golf.

Terry Strada, the national chair of the 9/11 Families United coalition and a widow with three children whose husband was killed in the 9/11 attacks, had penned the letter. According to Strada, the Saudi administration was introducing the new series to "whitewash history." She accused the golfers of being insensitive and said that they were siding with the attackers for “handsome” payments. The letter went viral.

Following this, Phil Mickelson, who acted as the face of LIV golfers, came forward to state that he shared "deep empathy" for the victims of the attacks. The former PGA Tour champion didn’t deny the accusations made in the letter and said that he wasn’t overlooking the attacks. Despite the criticism, he went on to state that the golfers will continue to play in the controversial series.

LIV Golf also faced controversy due to Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman and his involvement in various human rights cases. The Crown Prince’s alleged involvement in the murder of Washington Post journalist Jamal Khashoggi was also brought forth by the protestors during their campaign against LIV. Some protestors even made their way to LIV Golf events with placards.

However, nothing materialized as the series officials ignored the campaign against them.