LIV Golf’s Failure Underscores Unresolved Questions of Saudi Accountability for 9/11

9/11 Families United says collapse of Saudi-backed LIV Golf exposes a failed attempt to reshape global perception as legal accountability for 9/11 continues to advance

WASHINGTON – 9/11 Families United, a coalition of families and survivors of the September 11, 2001 terrorist attacks, released the following statement from National Chair Terry Strada on the collapse of funding for the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia’s Public Investment Fund-backed LIV Golf:

“Mohammed bin Salman, the Crowned Prince, tried to buy respect on the world stage by attempting to remake the long-honored sport of golf, rich in tradition, into a loud, exhibition-style spectacle lacking in decorum. It was sportwashing, an effort to cleanse its murderous reputation. He failed. Completely.

“From the outset, the 9/11 community made clear that no amount of money would obscure what remains unresolved. We forced the issue into the open, on the course, in the press, and in Congress. Players were confronted, tournaments were protested, and a backroom merger was brought into the open. The American public responded with clarity: rejection.

“The Kingdom’s Public Investment Fund spent billions on this effort. What it purchased was scrutiny. Not acceptance, but resistance. Not distance from the truth, but a return to it.

“Recent polling shows a majority of Americans continue to view Saudi Arabia unfavorably, underscoring the failure of efforts to reshape public perception.

“This was never about golf. It was an attempt to outrun accountability. That effort has now collapsed.

“There is no alternative path forward. The Kingdom must answer for its support of al Qaeda and for the U.S.-based support network that assisted the hijackers in the lead-up to September 11. The details of that network are already in the record in the 9/11 litigation against the Kingdom. They are established.

“This ends in one place: liability for the murder of nearly 3,000 Americans on U.S. soil.”

About 9/11 Families United: 
9/11 Families United is an organization consisting of family members of those murdered in the terrorist attacks of September 11, 2001, as well as many of those who survived, were injured in or sickened from the attacks, a community that numbers well over 10,000.  More information is at www.911familiesunited.org