Tuesday, 24 December 2024
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Fans are mostly ignore protests of Saudi financing

Fans are mostly ignore protests of Saudi financing

LANCASTER, Mass. – Art Shaughnessy and his son, Donovan, stood in a line of people at the Bolton Fairgrounds Friday morning, waiting to board shuttle buses to the LIV Golf Invitational Boston in nearby Bolton.

It’s the latest event in the new LIV Golf series that is getting a lot of attention.

Not only for its big-names like Phil Mickelson and Cameron Smith, the second-ranked golfer in the word, but also because the series is financially backed by the government of Saudi Arabia with its reported lengthy list of human-rights abuses.

“No, I haven’t really noticed them,” said Shaughnessy when asked about a group of protesters just off to his right, in a nearby area of the fairgrounds, the only official parking area for visitors.

“I’m really here for the golf,” he said.

That feeling was echoed by others who stood in line. Some said it’s hypocritical to single out this event when other sports leagues receive money from countries with reported human-rights abuses.

“Go ask the PGA what they’re backed by. It’s probably China,” said Susan Barnes, who came all the way from Elba, Alabama.

“Tell the protesters they don’t know what they’re talking about,” she said.

Lone protest group

Massachusetts Peace Action was the only group of protesters at the Fairground on Friday morning, which was the only area event organizers allowed protesters to be.

The group numbered less than a dozen, holding signs and banners that said, “Saudi Money is Blood Money” and “Saudi Arabia kills journalists and kids in Yemen.”

“The main reason we’re here is that Saudi Arabia funds this golf tournament,” said Paul Shannon, who sits on the group’s executive committee. “It’s one of the most repressive governments on earth.”

Kevin Moulton stood just outside a fence that separated him from visitors as they lined up to board shuttle buses.

A member of Massachusetts Peace Action, Moulton quietly held out protest materials in his right hand as visitors walked past. Only three people grabbed one.

Some in line appeared annoyed by Moulton standing there. One man said, “We get gas from Saudi Arabia, and Clinton gave money to them in the 1990s.”

Another man said, “The PGA takes a lot of Saudi money, too.”

“I’m here to educate people and let them know where the money is coming from,” said Moulton, adding that the Massachusetts Senate team of Elizabeth Warren and Ed Markey, plus Worcester U.S. Rep. Jim McGovern, should have…

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