Richard Blumenthal

It should not be about the money, the disruption, the uneconomic offers.

We will continue this inquiry because I think uncovering more of the facts and shining a spotlight on what is really happening here is in the national interest and part of our obligation.

We are going to continue this inquiry. We are going to ask that the other potential witnesses that we invited actually come and share their perspectives and information.

We are here because the regime, an autocratic, repressive regime, is torturing, imprisoning, killing its own people.

Senator Cornyn and I led the effort--it is called Justice Against Sponsors of Terrorism Act (JASTA)--to enable those families to go to court.

If we are going to be selling out to countries that can throw around hundreds of billions of dollars, we are going to lose, not just financially.

In other words, their interest was public image, sportswashing, cleansing their reputation. Correct?

That is how they can be disruptive because they have a lot of money, bucketsful of money. Correct?

It is better to know what the concerns of the American people are before you are straitjacketed and locked into an agreement that may, in fact, unfairly and even illegally, bind you, your players, sponsors, and others.

I think the general feeling, and I am quoting, is that a lot of people feel a bit of betrayal from management.

The bed was on fire when you got into it.

I would argue that legally, as well as morally, they have a duty to keep their boards of directors informed.

To be clear, he is out of a job.

Were any of the other independent directors on the board informed about the conversations or negotiations?

This effort to restrict, punish, torture, imprison, kill people who stand up for their beliefs is a growing worldwide phenomenon, and I would hope that it would unite us on a bipartisan basis.

That is why we are conducting this investigation and why we will broaden it, as appropriate, to include other institutions and other repressive regimes and their potential impact on our institutions.

It takes a lot to turn down a lot of money.

If this litigation is ended and your revenue is almost $3 billion a year, why do you need the Saudis' billion dollars?

Again, I can only emphasize to you, Mr. Price, that your players, like Tiger Woods, gave up hundreds of millions of dollars. They stood strong. I hope the PGA Tour will as well.

But you could go elsewhere for $1 billion, $3 billion, maybe $50 billion. Correct?

The PGA Tour brought in over $1.5 billion in revenue in 2021. Less than 3 percent of it, $43,694,020, was expensed as charitable grants.

In 2023 we will distribute almost $1 billion to our players.

The Saudi government is the dominant owner here. It has the equity interest.

Yes, we will do it proudly. We will protect our players.

You still have the choice to stand up against sportswashing, against the Saudi monarchy, against the hundreds of billions of dollars, and maybe a lot more that the Saudis will throw at you and stand up for America because America is going…