Even after meeting with LIV Golf CEO Greg Norman, Charles Barkley says he has yet to get a broadcasting offer.
Charles Barkley, a member of the Basketball Hall of Fame who has found post-playing success as a TNT commentator and a corporate pitchman, revealed on Thursday that he has not yet received a formal invitation to join LIV Golf as a broadcaster.
I simply cannot afford to keep TNT in limbo. Barkley complained to ESPN about the unfairness of the situation before participating in the pro-am at Trump National Golf Club Bedminster, location of the third LIV Tour event.
My sponsors are worried, and not just because of what TNT is worried about. Subway, Capital One, and Dick's Sporting Goods have all contacted me. Simply said, I'll have to make a choice at some point.
Barkley doesn't look to be at a crossroads right now. Although he met with LIV Golf CEO Greg Norman and expressed interest in joining the broadcast team, he claimed on Thursday that he has not yet received an offer.
No contract has been extended to me as of yet. Barkley remarked, "They asked if I was interested and I said sure." "Greg and I had a talk, and I gave him the approval he wanted. To put it simply, I'm in a great spot. I'd be interested in what they have to offer if it were worthwhile to me. Regardless, if they don't hire me at TNT, I've got a fantastic job.
Even former President Donald Trump was at the pro-am on Thursday at his golf property in northern New Jersey.
Earlier this week, family relatives of 9/11 victims attended a news conference to express their outrage about the location of the golf course so close to the site of the World Trade Center attacks on that fateful day. They plan to conduct another news conference on Friday.
9/11 Justice members had previously written a letter to Trump, "expressing the great anguish, frustration, and outrage they feel as a result of his choice to hold the Saudi-sponsored league at his club in New Jersey in the shadows of Ground Zero," the group stated in a release earlier this week.
Barkley told ESPN, "I have sorrow for the 9/11 family." "It's arguably the worst day in the history of our country."
Said Trump to ESPN on Thursday: "Nobody's gotten to the bottom of 9/11, regrettably, and they should have."
The Saudi government has denied any involvement in the 9/11 attacks, but a spokesperson for the 9/11 Justice organization said newly declassified FBI papers further demonstrated Saudi Arabia's complicity in the attacks.
"I've known these individuals for a long time," Trump remarked of the Saudi Arabian funders of the LIV Tour. "They've been friends of mine for a long time. They have put their money into a wide variety of American businesses. What they're doing for golf is fantastic, and they possess sizable stakes in a wide variety of American corporations. I think it's awesome what they're doing for the players. Salary levels are expected to increase significantly.
Barkley has expressed confusion as to why the public is so upset about professional golfers but not about the firms like LIV Golf that receive funding from the Public Investment Fund of Saudi Arabia.
Words like "sportswashing" and "dirty money" are completely made up. 'Listen, if you play sports, we all take money from some places you might not love or respect,' Barkley remarked. I don't want to be seen as a hypocrite. These LIV golfers are working hard to support their families. I hope for nothing but happiness for them. The same goes for my golfing chums on the PGA Tour. However, everyone is just trying to be moral.
"Everyone wants to place selective outrage," Barkley added. I will never allow such a thing to occur under my watch.
On Wednesday, LIV Golf said that it would increase the number of tournaments it hosts to 14 in 2023, with 48 golfers vying for record payouts of $405 million. With a $300 million investment in the Asian Tour this year, LIV Golf also plans to host further tournaments in 2023 as part of its LIV Golf International Series.
For a long time, as you know, the PGA was not well-liked by many players, Trump told ESPN. They can choose something else now. And no one could have predicted that it would lead to a gold rush like this.
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