The U.S. Department of Justice is reportedly investigating the PGA Tour for possible violations of antitrust laws concerning its suspension of players who joined the Saudi-backed LIV Golf league.
The PGA Tour went hammer and tongs against players who signed up to play for LIV, suspending them, revoking their membership, and banning them from any future PGA-backed tournament.
At issue are rules the PGA Tour forces on players that prevent them from participating in any tournament outside the PGA Tour, as well as rules that require players to ask for permission to play in events not organized by the Tour.
Critics have blasted those rules as “anti-competitive,” according to the Wall Street Journal.
LIV spokesman Greg Norman, for instance, insisted that the creation of LIV brings “free agency” to pro golf.
Greg Norman, CEO, and commissioner of LIV Golf, looks on during day one of the LIV Golf Invitational – Portland at Pumpkin Ridge Golf Club on June 30, 2022, in North Plains, Oregon. (Jamie Squire/LIV Golf via Getty Images)
LIV even said it is assumed that the federal government will investigate the PGA over its “unlawful practices.” The organization added, “There is simply no recognized justification for banning independent contractor professional golfers for simply contracting to play professional golf.”
LIV was apparently prescient, as the DOJ has launched a review of the PGA’s practices.
U.S. Attorney General Merrick Garland delivers remarks during an event to mark the first anniversary of the COVID-19 Hate Crimes Act at the Department of Justice Robert F. Kennedy Building on May 20, 2022, in Washington, DC. (Chip Somodevilla/Getty Images)
For its part, the PGA Tour claims that it is not overly worried about any such investigation because the feds already looked at their rules back in 1994 and found no violations.
“This was not unexpected,” the PGA Tour spokesman said, according to the Journal. “We went through this in 1994 and we are confident in a similar outcome.”
Around 20 PGA pros have left the PGA Tour for the LIV league.
Top names include Greg Norman. Phil Mickelson, Brooks Koepka, Abraham Ancer, Dustin Johnson, Ian Poulter, and more.
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