Golfer Phil Mickelson issued an apology on Tuesday for his comments about the Saudis and a proposed super league.
Mickelson’s comments were about a potential breakaway Saudi-funded golf league, and he said they were not intended to be shared publicly. In a conversation earlier this month with author Alan Shipnuck, Mickelson described the Saudis as “scary” and “execute people over there for being gay.” Shipnuck recently published an excerpt of that exchange about the PGA Tour.
Mickelson apologized and said his comments about the Saudis and a proposed super league were meant to be off the record.
“Although it doesn’t look this way now given my recent comments, my actions throughout this process have always been with the best interests of golf, my peers, sponsors and fans,”Mickelson wrote. “There is the problem of off-the-record comments being shared out of context and without my consent, but the bigger issue is that I used words that do not reflect my true feelings or intentions. It was reckless, I offended people, and I am deeply sorry for my choice of words.”
Following Mickelson’s statement, KPMG was the first of his corporate sponsors to end their partnership. The firm said this was a mutual decision.
Shipnuck is writing a biography on Mickelson slated for May. During their conversation last November, Mickelson also told him that it was worth doing business with the Saudis despite their history of human rights violations in order to change the PGA Tour.
“We know they killed [Washington Post’s Jamal] Khashoggi and have a horrible record on human rights. They execute people over there for being gay,” Mickelson said in the interview. “Knowing all of this, why would I even consider it? Because this is a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity to reshape how the PGA Tour operates.”
In his apology, Mickelson said he needs to be accountable “despite my belief that some changes have already been made within the overall discourse.”