PULSE POINTS
WHAT HAPPENED: A reporter had his credentials revoked by LIV Golf after refusing to remove questions about Saudi funding from an interview.
WHO WAS INVOLVED: Bill Hobson, host of Michigan Golf Live, golfer Pat Perez, LIV Golf officials, and Saudi Arabia.
WHEN & WHERE: The incident occurred ahead of LIV Golf’s tournament at The Cardinal at Saint John’s in Michigan.
KEY QUOTE: “I told them, ‘Those were perfectly fine questions and [Perez] answered them fine.’ They said, ‘No, he didn’t answer them fine. He was out of his lane and he shouldn’t have gone there.’” – Bill Hobson
IMPACT: LIV revoked Hobson’s credentials and offered him spectator tickets instead, which Hobson called “largely unprecedented.”
IN FULL
Bill Hobson, host of the radio show Michigan Golf Live, had his media credentials revoked by LIV Golf after refusing to edit an interview in which he asked about the league’s ties to Saudi Arabia. The interview, conducted with LIV golfer Pat Perez, was arranged by LIV to promote its upcoming tournament at The Cardinal at Saint John’s in Michigan.
During the podcast, Hobson asked Perez about LIV’s funding from Saudi Arabia’s Public Investment Fund (PIF), which owns and operates the league. According to Hobson, Perez answered without issue. However, within ten minutes of the interview’s conclusion, Hobson said LIV officials contacted him to request the removal of the Saudi question, as well as another regarding former LIV CEO Greg Norman.
“I told them, ‘Those were perfectly fine questions and he answered them fine,’” Hobson recalled. “They said, ‘No, he didn’t answer them fine. He was out of his lane and he shouldn’t have gone there,’” Hobson continued, relating that he explained to LIV that he had “not agreed to any limitations or, you know, ‘I won’t go there’ categories… And I wouldn’t have done the interview with that.”
Hobson said multiple LIV representatives followed up over the next two days, continuing to pressure him to edit the podcast. He refused. Seemingly in retaliation, Hobson was informed on Tuesday that his media credentials for the Michigan tournament had been revoked and that he was instead being offered general admission spectator tickets. He called the decision “largely unprecedented.”
The situation reflects growing concerns about foreign influence in U.S. sports. LIV Golf is fully funded by Saudi Arabia’s PIF, a government-controlled entity that has spent billions investing in global sports as part of the Kingdom’s broader “Vision 2030” economic diversification plan. These moves are widely seen as attempts at “sportswashing”—a strategy to improve the nation’s global image despite criticism of its human rights record.
Saudi Arabia is not alone. Other countries have expanded their sports investments in the U.S. and beyond. Chinese firms have held stakes in NBA franchises, and Qatar’s sovereign wealth fund has taken positions in European soccer and tennis and recently explored opportunities in American sports as well.
Image by MEAphotogallery.
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