SCORECARD
14 SPORTS ILLUSTRATED | SI.COM
OMPETITIVE SPORTS
are built on the concept
of fair play, which helps
explain why so many oppressive
regimes see value in games. Any
form of good, wholesome fun can
seem like it is presented by good,
wholesome people, even when the
facts say otherwise.
China, with its appalling human
rights record and opposition to
an independent Taiwan, hosted
the recent Winter Olympics with
the strategically peaceful slogan
Together for a Shared Future.
One of the stars of those Games
was Eileen Gu, a California-
born skier who chose to compete
for her mother’s homeland of
China, implicitly embracing the
government of China rather than
the U.S., whether or not that was
her intent. Gu declined to say
whether she renounced her U.S.
citizenship to gain a Chinese
passport, as Chinese law requires,but she did gush about “the ability
of sport to bridge the gap and to be
a force for unity.”
That was music to the ears of
the Chinese government—and to
those of the Saudi government, as
well. Saudi Arabia has long lured
star golfers to events there with
large financial guarantees, using
the players and sports to present a
benign image of the country. The
Saudis have succeeded: Two-time
Masters champion Bubba Watson
recently praised their efforts to
support women’s golf, completely
ignoring the fact that, until last
summer, women needed permission
from a male guardian to live alone.
The Saudis, to use Phil Mickelson’s
words, are “scary motherf------ to
get involved with,” yet he is involved
anyway. Mickelson has spearheaded
the Saudi-funded effort to create
a world golf tour for the game’s
elite—a much larger effort to cleanse
the country’s image.C
REGIMES HAVE BEEN USING SPORTS TO BURNISH
THEIR IMAGES OR DISTRACT FROM THEIR
PROBLEMATIC BEHAVIOR FOR CENTURIES
WAS HI NG UP
BY MICHAEL ROSENBERG ILLUSTRATION BY DAVIDE BARCOGAMEPLAN p. 20 SI EATS p. 21 FULL FRAME p. 22 FACES IN THE CROWD p. 26