U.S. Sen. Ron Wyden (D-Ore.) announced in a June 14 Twitter post that he and Sen. Elizabeth Warren (D-Mass.) are urging the Department of Justice (DOJ) to investigate the merger between the PGA and LIV Golf.
"The PGA-LIV merger would force U.S. golfers and their fans to be complicit in the Saudi regime's attempts to sanitize its brutal human rights record. @SenWarren and I are calling on DOJ to scrutinize this deal and its potential violations of antitrust law," Wyden wrote in a tweet.
According to a news release from the PGA Tour, the DP World Tour, the PGA Tour and the PIF (Public Investment Fund), have unveiled an agreement aiming to merge the commercial interests and rights of the organizations (including those of LIV Golf).
This will result in a new jointly-owned, profit-oriented organization. The initiative, reports the PGA Tour in the release, seeks to ensure all stakeholders will gain from a system designed to enhance the thrill and competition among the sport's top-tier players.
A Bloomberg article, however, reports that the announced partnership is seen by authorities as a bold move filled with potential risks. Among the biggest concerns, the article says, is the creation of a massive monopoly in an industry that had recently seen the emergence of a new competitor.
In a letter to the DOJ, Wyden and Warren expressed grave reservations, stating the deal will serve as a tool for the Saudi government to “sportswash” its severe human rights violations. Furthermore, they indicated that the agreement suggests a variety of legal and regulatory concerns, such as antitrust law and the PGA Tour's tax status.
In the letter, the senators wrote that the PGA-LIV agreement will involve a U.S. organization, along with U.S. golfers and fans, to clean up its human rights abuse image. Previously, the letter notes, the PGA Tour, itself, had labeled LIV as an entity willing to incur substantial losses to “sportswash” Saudi's negative human rights reputation.
Furthermore, the letter says the deal appears to breach numerous U.S. antitrust law provisions, threatening competition. Specifically, the senators cite the Sherman Antitrust Act and the Clayton Antitrust Act, emphasizing the deal's “collusive schemes” and monopolization tactics.
