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911 Families: “Golf Stars and Donald Trump are Accepting ‘Blood Money’ to Align with Saudi-Backed League”

NNPA NEWSWIRE — “Some of your fellow PGA Tour members have traded their dreams of earned success for easy money – indeed, blood money – whether they need those funds or not,” family members of 9/11 victims wrote in a passionate letter to the PGA TOUR. “They include some of the richest in the field, who justify their roles in Saudi Arabia’s efforts to sportswash by simply, and astoundingly, looking the other way. They do so casually when asked the hard questions or are faced with the uncomfortable truth: That they are helping one of the world’s worst regimes paper over its crimes.”

Published

4 years ago

July 22, 2022

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By Stacy M. Brown, NNPA Newswire Senior National Correspondent
@StacyBrownMedia

Critics of a new golf league backed by the oppressive Saudi Arabian government and supported by former President Donald Trump have decried the actions of players who have bolted the PGA TOUR, taking millions of dollars to participate.

Observers said the recent decisions of prominent and wealthy stars like Phil Mickelson, Dustin Johnson, Sergio Garcia, and Brooks Koepka to play on LIV Tour is as selfish as the sports world has ever seen.

“As far as … the players who have chosen to go to LIV and to play there, I disagree with it,” Tiger Woods said this month. “I think that what they’ve done is they’ve turned their back on what has allowed them to get to this position.”

Harold Varner III credited, among others, retired NBA Superstar Michael Jordan with his decision not to join LIV.

“I’m obviously not going,” Varner said matter-of-factly about leaving the PGA Tour for LIV Golf. “I’ve spoken with (PGA Tour commissioner) Jay (Monahan), I’ve spoken with a lot of people I look up to, and it just wasn’t worth it to me for what it was worth. So that’s pretty simple,” he said, according to Sports Illustrated.

According to Golf.com, LIV has presented itself as a beacon for golf improvement.

“To a man, every member of the new league has in some way referenced ‘positive change’ as a justification for delving into the morally murky waters surrounding its financiers,” James Colgan wrote for Golf.com.

This, Woods said, is LIV’s greatest failing.

Golf isn’t stronger for the competition, and neither are its players. Nobody is, the legend stated.

“I just don’t see how that move is positive in the long term for a lot of these players,” Woods stated.

Moreover, the upcoming LIV Golf Series, hosted by Trump at his National Golf Club Bedminster in New Jersey, threatens to detract from the PGA TOUR’s Rocket Mortgage Classic in Detroit.

According to CNBC, Trump’s decision to align with LIV highlights his close ties to Saudi Arabia; he made his first foreign visit there as president, and its wealth fund injected $2 billion into his son-in-law’s company last year.

“The Trump-LIV partnership also represents a measure of paybacks. The PGA Tour and PGA of America yanked tournaments from Trump’s Doral and Bedminster clubs respectively, following bigoted remarks he made on the campaign trail in 2016 (the PGA Tour said the move was financially motivated after losing the sponsorship for the event), and then his role in inciting the mob that ransacked the U.S. Capitol on Jan. 6, 2021,” CNBC reported.

Trump sued PGA of America and the case was settled in December.

“Trump is loving this. He’s loving the revenge. He’s loving the attention. He’s loving the money,” said Gary Williams, a golf analyst with the marketing firm Signature Golf and a former host of an NBC-owned Golf Channel show who played with Trump at Doral in 2014.

“Trump had a seat at the table in the professional golf world and lost it, and now he found this sort of rogue organization in the golf world that’s an existential threat to the establishment,” Williams told NBC. “And he cannot get enough of it.”

Critics have also said what’s ignored is that through the world of golf, the PGA TOUR drives positive impact at unprecedented levels to support and improve local communities.

Nonprofit tournaments under the PGA TOUR umbrella donate their net proceeds to support local organizations, totaling more than $3.37 billion in donations.

When players, fans, and businesses support a PGA TOUR event, they contribute to countless philanthropic organizations in and around communities where events are held.

Before the July 28 to July 31 Rocket Mortgage Classic, officials announced the return of THE JOHN SHIPPEN National Golf Invitational presented by Rocket Mortgage – an event designed to provide opportunities for Black men and women amateur and professional golfers.

Additionally, THE JOHN SHIPPEN Sports Business Summit will return for its second year to address the lack of representation in business and leadership roles in golf and across professional sports for people of color.

“So, not only do these defections to LIV pose a threat to the PGA TOUR, but it also jeopardizes these amazing programs for Black and Brown people, and it doesn’t help the advancement the TOUR and golf overall had made when it comes to inclusion,” said Peter Bassett, a golf pro in Washington, D.C.

“I’d say these athletes are not only spoiled, but they are showing their true colors as the most selfish humans on earth,” Bassett asserted.

Bassett asked what others had wondered. “Have these guys considered that they are receiving blood money?” he stated.

Survivors and families of Sept. 11, 2001, terrorist attacks have protested LIV Golf events because of the involvement of the Saudi government in that unforgettable assault and murders of Americans on U.S. soil.

“Some of your fellow PGA Tour members have traded their dreams of earned success for easy money – indeed, blood money – whether they need those funds or not,” family members of 9/11 victims wrote in a passionate letter to the PGA TOUR.

“They include some of the richest in the field, who justify their roles in Saudi Arabia’s efforts to sportswash by simply, and astoundingly, looking the other way. They do so casually when asked the hard questions or are faced with the uncomfortable truth: That they are helping one of the world’s worst regimes paper over its crimes.”

The families have made clear that they hold Saudi Arabia accountable for its role in the attacks which killed nearly 3, 000 people at the World Trade Center in New York, the Pentagon in Washington, and in Pennsylvania.

The letter cited FBI reports about Saudi Arabia’s involvement in the attacks.

The families applauded golfers who have turned down the eye-popping checks some have accepted to play for LIV.

“To those of you who have chosen what is right over blood money from a corrupt, destructive sports entity and its Saudi backers, please continue to stand strong,” the families wrote.

“You inspire hope and conviction that our long journey to accountability and justice is in reach. We deeply value your integrity and your willingness to stand up for principle. Thank you for standing up for decency.”

Amnesty International listed the top 10 ways Saudi Arabia continues to violate human rights.

The organization noted that the government still uses torture for many offenses. Amnesty officials often said, following unfair trials, the government resorts to corporal punishment like flogging, amputations, and cross amputations where the opposite hand and foot are removed for individuals found guilty of robbery.

Amnesty said Saudi Arabia stands among the world’s top executioners, with dozens of people executed yearly – many in public beheadings. Saudi Arabia also opposes free speech, with activists jailed simply for exercising their rights to freedom of expression, association, and assembly.

The country also doesn’t allow protests, and women face broad discrimination.

“Women and girls remain subject to discrimination in law and practice, with laws that ensure they are subordinate citizens to men – particularly concerning family matters such as marriage, divorce, child custody, and inheritance,” Amnesty officials wrote.

“Women who supported a campaign against a ban on women drivers face the threat of arrest and other harassment and intimidation,” they stated.

Further, torture in police custody remains common, and authorities don’t need reasons to detain individuals. Also, according to Amnesty officials, members of the Kingdom’s Shi’a minority, most of whom live in the oil-rich Eastern Province, continue to face entrenched discrimination that limits their access to government services and employment.

According to the Interior Ministry, a crackdown on irregular foreign migrant workers in November 2013 led to the deportation of more than 370,000 people. Some 18,000 were still being detained as of March 2020, and thousands of people were summarily returned to Somalia, Yemen, or other states where they could face human rights abuses on return.

Authorities in Saudi Arabia have continued to deny access to independent human rights organizations, officials said.

“Maybe Phil Mickelson will stand at a podium and demand the Saudis give a full accounting of what happened to Jamal Khashoggi, the Washington Post journalist brutally murdered by henchmen on orders, the Central Intelligence Agency has said, from Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman,” Journalist Kurt Streeter wrote for the New York Times.

“Yes, the same Prince Mohammed is now using the LIV Golf series to distract from the truth about his homeland,” Streeter continued.

“Don’t hold your breath. None of the golfers who signed on to the LIV tour in exchange for staggering sums will speak up. They are too spineless and too compromised, working as they do for a tour funded by a government that tramples human rights.”

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COMMENTARY: Jim Crow 2.0 at the Pentagon

BLACKPRESSUSA NEWSWIRE — The American people are expected to believe that one extraordinary officer after another suddenly fails to meet some undefined standard of excellence. We are expected to ignore impeccable service records while accepting that political appointees alone possess the wisdom to determine who is worthy of advancement.

Published

2 weeks ago

August 3, 2026

bpusa-syndication

Pete Hegseth insists that he is restoring “merit” to the United States military. But after months of dismissals, blocked promotions, and ideological purges, the evidence tells a different story. His campaign against so-called “diversity, equity, and inclusion” has become something far more dangerous: an assault on equal opportunity that falls with particular force on African Americans, while also targeting women, Latinos, gay Americans, and transgender service members.

The latest example is both troubling and infuriating.

Once again, Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth has reportedly blocked the promotion of an exceptionally qualified woman—Rear Admiral Amy Bauernschmidt. Bauernschmidt is no ordinary officer. She became the Navy’s first woman to command a nuclear-powered aircraft carrier, one of the most demanding leadership assignments in the world. Her career reflects decades of exemplary performance, operational excellence, and leadership under extraordinary pressure.

Yet once again, a distinguished military career appears to have been subordinated to an ideological agenda masquerading as “merit.”

I call BS!

The American people are expected to believe that one extraordinary officer after another suddenly fails to meet some undefined standard of excellence. We are expected to ignore impeccable service records while accepting that political appointees alone possess the wisdom to determine who is worthy of advancement.

The pattern has become impossible to ignore.

General Charles Q. Brown Jr., only the second African American to serve as Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, was dismissed despite a career that placed him among the most accomplished military leaders of his generation.

Admiral Lisa Franchetti, the first woman ever to serve as Chief of Naval Operations, was removed despite decades of distinguished command experience.

Reports have documented interventions that blocked or delayed the promotions of Black officers and women selected through the military’s rigorous promotion system.

Now Rear Admiral Amy Bauernschmidt joins the growing list of highly accomplished officers whose careers have been derailed for reasons that have never been persuasively explained.

Where is Congress?

Its silence has become deafening.

Congress has an independent constitutional responsibility to oversee the armed forces. Instead, too many lawmakers have watched silently while one of the nation’s most respected institutions is subjected to ideological litmus tests and political interference.

This is not military reform. It is testosterone-fueled performative masculinity disguised as a philosophy of military excellence.

The irony is impossible to miss. Hegseth repeatedly invokes “merit,” yet his rhetoric begins with the assumption that Black officers, women, and other historically excluded Americans must somehow justify their achievements in ways that white male officers are rarely required to do.

That is not meritocracy. It is prejudice wrapped in patriotic language.

No one is asking that anyone be promoted because of race or gender. Americans simply expect that promotions be based on demonstrated competence, leadership, integrity, and service. The officers being targeted have already proven themselves repeatedly under one of the world’s most demanding evaluation systems.

Their records speak for themselves.

The attack on African American military leadership has been especially pernicious.

For generations, Black Americans fought in segregated units, earned decorations while denied equal treatment, and repeatedly demonstrated loyalty to a nation that often failed to extend them full citizenship. They broke barriers not because standards were lowered but because excellence finally overcame institutional discrimination.

Today’s campaign against “diversity” threatens to revive old assumptions under new slogans.

The implication that Black generals and admirals somehow owe their success to affirmative action rather than extraordinary performance echoes some of the ugliest stereotypes of the Jim Crow era. Yesterday’s segregationists claimed Black Americans were inherently less qualified. Today’s culture warriors simply employ more politically acceptable language while inviting the same suspicion about Black achievement.

That is why Hegseth’s campaign increasingly resembles Jim Crow 2.0.

The targets may now wear stars on their shoulders instead of military patches on segregated uniforms, but the underlying message is hauntingly familiar: Black excellence is presumed suspect, while white excellence is presumed earned.

America’s military became the finest fighting force in history because it opened its doors to talent wherever it could be found. It grew stronger after President Truman desegregated the armed forces. It became stronger when women assumed greater command responsibilities. It became stronger when every qualified American was given the opportunity to serve to the fullest extent of their abilities.

Diversity is not a concession. It is a strategic advantage.

The nation’s adversaries do not fear an American military because it is racially homogeneous. They fear it because it draws upon the talents of more than 340 million Americans whose diverse experiences, perspectives, and abilities make our armed forces unmatched anywhere in the world.

Every politically motivated dismissal of a distinguished officer sends a chilling message throughout the ranks: excellence alone may no longer be enough if you belong to the wrong demographic group.

That weakens morale. It weakens recruitment. It weakens retention.

And ultimately, it weakens national security.

Pete Hegseth has every right to pursue military readiness. He has no right to redefine merit in ways that repeatedly cast suspicion upon the accomplishments of Black officers, women, and others who have devoted their lives to defending this nation.

America deserves better. The men and women who wear the uniform deserve better. The Constitution deserves better.

And unless Congress finds the courage to exercise meaningful oversight, history may well remember this period not as a restoration of military excellence, but as the moment political ideology attempted to resurrect, in modern form, the old poison of exclusion.

Jim Crow did not strengthen America. Jim Crow 2.0 will not strengthen America’s military. It will only diminish it

Wade Henderson
Strategic Advisor
Civil and Human Rights
wade@wadejhenderson.com

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New Judge Could Decide if Karmelo Anthony Gets a New Trial

By Emilie St. John (Contributor) Karmelo Anthony will return to court next month in his first step to overturn his murder conviction. Anthony was found guilty last month in the stabbing death of Austin Metcalf and sentenced to 35 years in prison. His new legal team has filed motions seeking the recusal of State District […]
The post New Judge Could Decide if Karmelo Anthony Gets a New Trial appeared first on BlackPressUSA.

Published

2 weeks ago

July 31, 2026

Oakland Post

By Emilie St. John
(Contributor)

Karmelo Anthony will return to court next month in his first step to overturn his murder conviction.

Anthony was found guilty last month in the stabbing death of Austin Metcalf and sentenced to 35 years in prison. His new legal team has filed motions seeking the recusal of State District Judge John Roach Jr. from overseeing the appeals process.

Two hearings have been scheduled on the motion for Aug. 9 and 10 in the Collin County Courthouse in McKinney, Texas, according to Fox4 News.

On July 14, Senior Judge Sid L. Harle of the 226th District Court was assigned to preside over the defense’s motion to recuse Collin County Judge John Roach. The assignment took effect immediately and authorized Harle to handle all matters related to the recusal request, the filing read.

The Collin County District Attorney’s Office continues to defend its handling of the case by issuing a statement to NBC 5 DFW.

“The defendant’s new lawyers have filed a motion containing several inaccurate characterizations of the trial proceedings. The entire prosecution team and I conducted this trial ethically and in full compliance with the Court’s rulings and any agreements with defense counsel. We look forward to addressing these claims thoroughly in a Court of law in the coming weeks. The jury heard extensive evidence over the course of the trial and returned a unanimous verdict. We remain confident in that verdict and the fairness of the proceedings.”

Anthony’s new legal team, made up of appellate, civil rights, and criminal defense attorneys, was retained following Anthony’s conviction.

“Our responsibility is to determine whether a legal error occurred and to ensure that every issue supported by the record is fully and vigorously presented on appeal,” the team said in a statement.

“We recognize the profound loss suffered by one young man’s family and the uncertainty facing another, and we extend our respect to everyone whose lives have been forever changed by these events,” the release reads.

Anthony was charged with the stabbing death of Austin Metcalf during a track meet in Frisco, Texas, April 2, 2025. Anthony has long maintained it was an act of self-defense.

The attorneys are representing Anthony pro bono. The nearly 200-page notice of appeal seeks a new trial because his Sixth Amendment right to a public trial was violated.

“The cumulative and practical effect of these provisions was to exclude members of the public from proceedings at every stage,” the filing reads.

The filing also focused on an alleged “handshake deal” that kept Anthony from taking the stand in his defense.

The defense filing said the agreement was that the jury would not hear that Metcalf and his twin brother had been accused of racism and bullying in the past. In exchange, they also would not see Anthony’s cellphone records or his school disciplinary record, according to court documents reported by the Dallas Morning News.

Anthony’s former defense attorney, Mike Howard, said the defense relied heavily on that deal. The team chose not to ask certain questions of witnesses or call on a separate expert witness based on that agreement. It also abandoned plans to introduce testimony and evidence about the allegations against Metcalf and his brother.

Appellate attorney Russell Wilson is now handling post-trial proceedings and Anthony’s appeal. He recently sat down for an interview, stating, “The court committed multiple errors during the June murder trial, preventing him from receiving a fair trial.”

“You know, we file motions that we expect to prevail on, but we understand that there’s two sides to every story. And at the end of the day, it’ll be a judge that has to make these decisions, but we feel confident in the positions that we’re taking,” Wilson said during an interview with WFAA. “There were substantial issues that we thought a reviewing court needed to look at. We thought these were constitutional irregularities, and we could have them addressed now. And so, we put them into a motion for a new trial.”

Bree West, a former Dallas County Assistant District Attorney, found it startling that so little time was given to Anthony’s team for such a serious “life or death” situation.

“I do think that it’s really challenging that potentially a court decided that you have 10 minutes to make that level of decision when it has the potential of being life-altering,” said West during an interview with Fox 4 News.

Judge Harle is no stranger to high-profile cases, having presided over the prosecution of a police officer charged in connection with the 2022 mass shooting at Robb Elementary School in Uvalde.

Anthony was convicted on June 9 of the murder of Austin Metcalf and sentenced to 35 years in prison.

The post New Judge Could Decide if Karmelo Anthony Gets a New Trial appeared first on BlackPressUSA.

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COMMENTARY: LSMFT! Lord Save Me from Trump!

WESTSIDE GAZETTE — The author criticizes Donald Trump’s rhetoric, noting his use of terms like “Dumbocrats” and “Communist” to describe Democrats and democracy. The column asserts that Trump’s current strategy involves creating doubt about midterm elections due to a lack of Republican agenda.
The post COMMENTARY: LSMFT! Lord Save Me from Trump! appeared first on BlackPressUSA.

Published

2 weeks ago

July 31, 2026

Oakland Post

Frankly Speaking

Wow! Wow! Wow! The swamp drainers have truly stepped down to new levels of stupidity. You remember Weapons of Mass Destruction? We now have Weapons of Mass Distraction. Trump has introduced Dumbocrats and Communists into the conversation about Democrats and Democracy.

Trump lies so much, and his current strategy is to set up doubt about midterm elections because he and Republicans have no agenda!

He has no “Trump “ card, but Iran has a strait! He called it a skirmish; it’s now a War. He said five days; now it’s five months. He said few casualties; now it’s 18 deaths. He knew nothing about Project 2025 but hired its architects! Trump lies about the lies and often forgets these little inventions called cameras and phones

We see and hear and then see and hear the inconsistencies.

I didn’t like 45 and dislike 47 even more!

The post LSMFT! Lord Save Me From Trump! appeared first on The Westside Gazette.

Based on reporting by Westside Gazette.

The post COMMENTARY: LSMFT! Lord Save Me from Trump! appeared first on BlackPressUSA.