The PGA Tour has paid a law firm to lobby Congress and the President.
According to lobbying disclosure reports filed by DLA Piper LLC, the Tour has paid $190,000 so far this year.
First reported by Business Insider, the original story noted the disclosures started to list “Saudi Golf League proposals” to its specific lobbying issues in 2021.
Business Insider also highlighted that Tour’s investment in lobbying increased by $50,000 in the second quarter, climbing to $120,000 as LIV Golf debuted in June near London.
Several prominent players have made the leap to the Saudi-backed league, accepting lavish guaranteed contracts. That includes Phil Mickelson, Bryson DeChambeau, Dustin Johnson, Brooks Koepka, and most recently Henrik Stenson, who was stripped of being European Ryder Cup captain on Wednesday.
Saudi Arabia has been accused of wide-ranging human rights abuses, including politically motivated killings, torture, forced disappearances and inhumane treatment of prisoners. And members of the royal family and Saudi government were accused of involvement in the murder of Jamal Khashoggi, a Saudi journalist and Washington Post columnist.
The Tour referred Insider to DLA Piper, which declined to comment specifically about its work for the Tour and discussions with government officials.
Last week, the Wall Street Journal reported that the Department of Justice is investigating the PGA Tour to determine if it “engaged in anti-competitive behavior” in its decision to ban players that have left for LIV Golf.
The PGA Tour was previously investigated in 1994 by the Federal Trade Commission regarding similar rules that kept players from competing in non-Tour events. Nothing came of that inquiry.
“This was not unexpected,” a PGA Tour spokesman said of the DOJ’s current investigation. “We went through this in 1994, and we are confident in a similar outcome.”
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