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Just a few months in the past, amongst the very early Saudi golf league discussions and defections, Charles Barkley stated that he will get it — “If someone gave me $200 million, I’d kill a relative,” he instructed Pat McAfee. “Even one I like.”
He’s been leaping in to defend the golfers leaving the PGA for Greg Norman’s new league for the reason that starting, and now, the previous NBA star and TV mouth is likely to be leaping his personal ship from TNT’s Contained in the NBA to affix the Saudi league as a commentator.
Per Barkley himself, nothing’s been formally signed but, however he had dinner with Saudi golf CEO Norman this week, and plans to play within the upcoming pro-am at Bedminster subsequent week. However he instructed the New York Publish that his sponsors, together with Dick’s Sporting Items and Capital One, are already calling him, anxious that he’s going to take the broadcasting place.
With the specter of dropping sponsors and having to depart TNT and with it, Ernie Johnson, Kenny Smith, and Shaq, the Saudi Public Funding Fund should make this provide financially value his whereas. Fortunate for him, and for them, if there’s one factor that the league will do, it’s shell out ridiculous quantities of cash.
Most of Barkley’s profession has, in fact, been about basketball, whether or not taking part in or broadcasting, however he’s an avid golfer who has been each a participant and an analyst within the annual celeb event, “The Match.”
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His tackle the Saudi authorities’s historical past of human rights abuses and the Jamal Khashoggi killing? “If you’re in professional sports activities, you’re taking some sort of cash from not an amazing trigger.”
That could be true, however explicitly taking cash from a authorities fund with such a historical past could also be the place some draw the road — or draw the road till the suitable variety of zeroes goes on that verify, I suppose. He added on that “blood cash” and “sportswashing” had been “made up phrases.” Effectively, not so positive about that — does he suppose that the Saudi Arabian authorities simply loves golf a lot that they wished to pour out billions right into a league only for kicks? This is likely one of the most blatant examples of sportswashing of all time.
Barkley’s not the one massive identify heading to Norman’s aspect — NBC’s David Feherty, an enormous character within the golf world, was reported earlier this week to be leaving to develop into an analyst for the brand new league. Actually, a Barkley-Feherty combo might find yourself being what provides the Saudi league a draw and units it aside. Whereas they don’t technically want income, they do want viewers, and people two might really appeal to folks to tune in to the exhibition-style tournaments. This is likely to be their reply to the “who will watch” query that we requested earlier this week.
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