Just a few weeks after former President Donald Trump hosted the controversial LIV Golf tour at his Bedminster club, a pair of state lawmakers have introduced a proposal that would ban such an event from ever happening again in New Jersey.
The bill from state Sens. Andrew Zwicker and Richard Codey, both Democrats, would prohibit sports organizations that operate primarily with money from sovereign wealth funds from hosting sporting events in the Garden State.
That would include LIV, the professional golf tour that aims to rival the PGA but has faced blowback because it’s backed by the Public Investment Fund, Saudi Arabia’s sovereign wealth fund.
In announcing their bill Tuesday, Zwicker and Codey pointed out that U.S. intelligence reports have said Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman approved the murder of Washington Post journalist Jamal Khashoggi, which the prince denies. They also noted the country has been accused of human rights abuses.
“New Jersey has long been fertile ground for producing top-quality athletes, and for hosting major sporting events known throughout the world,” Zwicker, D-Middlesex, said.
“Yet we do not need further recognition or notoriety from hosting competitions that are bankrolled by repressive governments or unsavory actors like Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman. This legislation will prohibit the Saudi PIF or any other sovereign wealth fund from using New Jersey or its sporting organizations in any shameful ‘sports-washing’ endeavors.”
In addition, families of Sept. 11 victims protested the LIV at Trump’s club last month, calling it “death golf,” after FBI documents last year said Saudi hijackers received support from Saudi nationals leading into the 2001 terrorist attack. The Saudi government has denied any involvement in the attacks.
“No one would have believed that after that terrible day that we would be allowing foreign governments to hold events in New Jersey in an attempt to clean up their image after centuries of human rights abuses and connections to terrorists,” Codey, D-Essex, said.
The founder of the group 9/11 Justice told Politico that a Trump representative called him to say Sept. 11 “is really near and dear to Trump” and he will “remember everyone” who sent a letter relaying their anger about the event.
At the event, Trump said “nobody has gotten to the bottom of 9/11 unfortunately, and they should have.” He also called the terrorists who carried out the attack “maniacs that did that horrible thing to our city, to our country, to the world.”
The Republican and his senior adviser and son-in-law, New Jersey native Jared Kushner, had close relationships with the Saudi crown prince when Trump was president. After Trump left office, the Saudi investment fund gave $2 billion to Kushner’s private equity firm.
Meanwhile, Trump has said the LIV Tour has created “gold rush” for players. The tour has offered top golfers tens or hundreds of millions of dollars to play. The deal Phil Mickelson signed is rumored to be worth $200 million over less than give years.
Mickelson has defended playing in the tour, saying “I don’t condone human rights violations at all” but he has also “seen the good that the game of golf has done throughout history and I believe LIV Golf is going to do a lot of good for the game as well.”
Under New Jersey’s proposed bill, the state attorney general would have the authority to ensure municipalities, countries, organizations, governments, property owners, and licenses holders comply with the ban.
The measure would need to be passed by both the state Senate and Assembly — both of which are controlled by Democrats — and signed by Democratic Gov. Phil Murphy to become law.
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Brent Johnson may be reached at bjohnson@njadvancemedia.com. Follow him at @johnsb01.
