You remember Phil Mickelson, right?
You know, The 52-year-old lefthanded professional golfer who won a bunch of major championships and PGA Tour events before being exposed as a manipulative fella who only really cared about himself and tearing down a Tour that made him close to $100 million?
You remember that guy, right?
It feels like it’s been a while since we’ve heard from him. He took a break from golf and social media after his explosive remarks about the PGA Tour and LIV Golf back in February shattered his image and sent him into isolation.
He had that embarrassing press conference before the U.S. Open and has had other press conferences since then where he just toed the line of his new employer and tried his best to remain unquotable.
Well, on Wednesday at a press conference in Saudi Arabia (where LIV Golf is holding one of their exhibitions this week), the old, manipulative Phil Mickelson showed back up again when he was asked about those quotes from last year.
Watch this:
Interesting moment from Phil's LIV presser in Saudi Arabia. Asked about his previous comments about Saudi, he answers:
"So I will reiterate, I never did an interview with Alan Shipnuck." pic.twitter.com/fLIrlkyJe5
— Dylan Dethier (@dylan_dethier) October 13, 2022
OK, so there are a few things about those comments that we should look at.
1. He said he didn’t do an interview with Alan Shipnuck, which is just 100 percent wrong. According to Shipnuck, Phil called him one night in November and made the following comments about the Saudis and their potential new golf league:
“They’re scary (expletives) to get involved with,” he said. “We know they killed [Washington Post reporter and U.S. resident Jamal] Khashoggi and have a horrible record on human rights. They execute people over there for being gay. 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. They’ve been able to get by with manipulative, coercive, strong-arm tactics because we, the players, had no recourse. As nice a guy as [PGA Tour commissioner Jay Monahan] comes across as, unless you have leverage, he won’t do what’s right. And the Saudi money has finally given us that leverage. I’m not sure I even want [the SGL] to succeed, but just the idea of it is allowing us to get things done with the [PGA] Tour.”
He said all of that to Shipnuck on the phone. I guess you could call it a conversation but to say it wasn’t an interview is just a childish way to try to spin something that nobody with half brain would buy.
2. The reporter started his question off by mentioning how Phil apologized for those comments. Phil knows he said those things. He apologized for them in a statement on February 22!
“Although it doesn’t look this way now given my recent comments, my actions throughout this process have always been with the best interest of golf, my peers, sponsors, and fans. There is the problem of off record comments being shared out of context and without my consent, but the bigger issue is that I used words I sincerely regret 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. I’m beyond disappointed and will make every effort to self-reflect and learn from this.”
Here’s his full statement:
A Statement from Phil Mickelson pic.twitter.com/2saaXIxhpu
— Phil Mickelson (@PhilMickelson) February 22, 2022
Again, stop it with the “I wasn’t interviewed” semantics. It’s a load of you-know-what that we’re not even close to buying.
3. Phil says everyone he’s dealt with at LIV Golf has been great to him, showing once again he has no concerns over the people funding the golf league or the human rights violations that continue to be committed by the Saudi Arabian government.
Phil doesn’t care about anything, really, except himself and the money he continues to make by playing mediocre golf in league that holds 3-round tournaments with no cuts.
Golf fans were quick to call Phil out for his comments.
They told him you took the money,now dance. He’s dancing all right. What a sad human https://t.co/tRESTSiQQD
— Sam 🤙🏼 (@SamGarra) October 13, 2022
As one LIV partner might say, “it was a perfect phone call.” https://t.co/xBEuD2oPtO
— Mark Baldwin (@markbaldwin1) October 13, 2022
The Trump approach: Even if something is on record, you say it's not on record. Then repeat. https://t.co/48pCW2fVrg
— Jeff Pearlman (@jeffpearlman) October 13, 2022
It’s not a lie, if you believe it. https://t.co/3ik2vSPm7N pic.twitter.com/uHKtUcEXav
— Lauren Goldfarb 🦫 (@LaurenGoldfarb3) October 13, 2022
Even politicians can’t deflect and bend the truth quite like Phil. https://t.co/GdTeK9o3MJ
— Sam Harrop (@sam_golf) October 13, 2022
Nothing matters anymore. People do something bad. They get criticized for it. Then they lie and say “actually I never did that in the first place.” And people believe them! What are we doing here? https://t.co/EWSn6otghM
— Brandon Kinnard (@brandonkinnard) October 13, 2022
This is pure propaganda straight from LIV higher ups. Just disgusting and so manipulative. What a clown 🤡 https://t.co/0y6pZZpkwe
— Mac Smith (@MaccAttacc17) October 13, 2022
Ah, the Herschel Walker defense… https://t.co/uvP4qo6p5P
— Chris Acree (@TallDudeAbides) October 13, 2022
Denying an interview that he apologized for ever took place https://t.co/2SxW84b0bh
— Nick Parco (@nick_parco) October 13, 2022
Phil is shedding his good guy legacy at an absolute breakneck pace https://t.co/R6UVAqCtGQ
— B.W. Carlin (@BaileyCarlin) October 13, 2022
If he didn't do the interview, then why did he apologize months ago for what he said during the interview he now says he didn't do? https://t.co/qHgW1GjXAG
— Mo Egger (@MoEgger) October 13, 2022
Some Orwellian post truth stuff going on with Phil at LIV. Shock https://t.co/hdZm3othME
— Josh Schrock (@Schrock_And_Awe) October 13, 2022
