NRL star Christian Welch has defended golfers taking the Saudi riches on offer in LIV Golf, arguing that many ordinary Aussies are guilty of doing the same thing.
It follows the roaring success of the inaugural Australian LIV Golf event over the weekend that saw thousands of fans partying at the Grange course in Adelaide.
There has been plenty of criticism of the rebel league that is bankrolled by Saudi Arabia’s sovereign wealth fund, created in 1971 for the purpose of investing on behalf of its government.
A Human Rights Watch report has previously outlined that Saudi residents ‘face systematic discrimination in religion, education, justice, and employment’.
Mass executions and the state-sanctioned killing of journalist Jamal Khashoggi have led to many human rights activists to call for a boycott of anything funded by the Saudi Arabia government.
Welch said that Aussies should look at the products and services they use that are backed by Saudi Arabian money before criticising LIV Golfers
Aussie golfers Jediah Morgan, Cameron Smith and Marc Leishman have all defected to the rebel LIV Golf tour
Welch was a guest on ABC show Offsiders on the weekend and was asked his view on golfers – including Aussies Cam Smith and Marc Leishman – taking the Saudi Arabia money on offer.
‘I dunno, I guess what your priorities are,’ he said.
‘If you want to win a few majors or if you want to set up your family for, you know, generational wealth.
‘Even Cam Smith talks about that life balance. His ability to come back to Australia, spend time with his family.
‘The PGA Tour is pretty hectic, so I guess what you’re looking for.’
When pressed on where the money came from by Kelli Underwood, Welch stood firm on his stance.
‘Does the Saudi backing leave a bad taste in your mouth?’ Underwood asked.
Welch replied: ‘Not really. I think if you’re judging that Saudi money coming in, you have to judge a lot of things.’
‘That Saudi money, they invested in Uber, Starbucks, Boeing, we all use those products,’ he continued.
‘They’ve got Newcastle United in the Premier League.
‘Australian sports, it’s littered with betting companies, alcohol companies.
‘You can always make a case about the damage to society from those products as well.
‘I understand some people’s objection to it, but I guess you have to probably take a wider perspective of it all.’
Smith hits from the ninth tee during the final round of LIV Golf Adelaide at the Grange Golf Club during the inaugural Australian event
Leishman takes time to mingle with the thousands of golf fans that flocked to the LIV Golf event that had a party atmosphere
Welch was widely praised for his honest and articulate take on the issue.
‘What an incredible reply, i was undecided but this clear factual explanation was perfect,’ one follower posted.
‘Great answer to a tricky question,’ posted another.
‘Christian has shown in one answer why he is on the players board for rugby league. This is the smartest response I have heard regarding this topic,’ added another.
However others were quick to condemn Saudi Arabia and their money despite Welch’s response.
‘This seems a pretty weak excuse to me,’ a follower posted.
‘Whataboutery that puts state sanctioned killing of journalists and providing an addictive product that adults choose to have on same level is interesting play,’ posted another.
‘He’s right, we do have to look at a lot of things. There’s heaps of iffy deals in sport, but we should be decreasing the iffy deals, not supporting and increasing them,’ added another.
