Willie R. Tubbs, FISM News
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When the U.S. Department of Justice opened its investigation into the PGA’s business practices, tour leadership took the news in stride. The same cannot be said of Texas Sen. John Cornyn.
PGA representatives stated that the league was confident nothing would come of the DOJ’s investigation into whether it had violated labor laws or engaged in anticompetitive behavior in its handling of players bolting for the upstart and well-funded LIV Golf Tour.
The PGA has been in a well-documented battle for players with the newly formed, Saudi-owned LIV Golf for months.
Sen. Cornyn, R.-Texas, sent a public letter to President Joe Biden requesting an explanation.
In the letter, Cornyn raised concerns that the federal government’s sudden interest in the PGA was conveniently timed, given Biden’s visit to Saudi Arabia and clear desire to make nice with a nation that has the ability to ease the United States’ gas issues.
“On Monday, July 11, 2022, the week you traveled to Saudi Arabia, the Wall Street Journal reported that your administration had sent inquiries regarding the PGA Tour’s actions as they relate to LIV Golf,” Cornyn wrote. “I am concerned about whether members of the Department of Justice’s Antitrust Division, or any other member of your administration, was involved in the investigation recently being made public. I also have questions about whether your administration had any contact with the Saudi Arabian government about the investigation, either before it opened or afterward.”
Cornyn requested Biden answer a series of 10 questions, all of which center on ascertaining why the DOJ acted as it did, when it did regarding the PGA.
As of this writing, the president has not responded to the request.
The crux of the DOJ investigation centers on how the PGA has treated players who have opted to join LIV Golf.
Whether or not the PGA’s banishment of departing players leads to charges of anticompetitive behavior, the PGA has one glaring problem, nothing it’s done so far has appeared to have much effect on player movement. The venerable tour has been losing big-named players almost weekly for months.
Reuters reported Sunday that Cameron Smith, the most recent winner of the Open Championship, is soon to leave the PGA for LIV Golf.
Cornyn, who only recently formed a tense-but-successful alliance with Democrats to shepherd new gun legislation into law, has gone on the offensive of late against Biden. Late last week, he joined six other conservative senators in blasting the president’s efforts at the U.S. border.