Sadly it's never going to be fair and equal criticism because of how big China's economy is. Look at Cuba and China for a good example of that. I did read in a related article that was linked to Ley's that the NBA stood behind a player who criticized Turkey's president, but Turkey's economy (like Cuba's) pales in comparison to China's.
Again, unfortunately this is the messy and many times ugly geo-political world we live in.
Finally some common sense regarding the sportswashing smokescreen.
[https://www.fastcompany.com/90765385/liv-golf-saudi-arabia-sportswashing-backlash]
Again, we must remember that not everyone has a working bullshit meter in their brain.
I could give you a perfect example, but would be chastised for being political. People are willingly fooled everyday.
Lincoln was right in that the problem with common sense is that itās not all that common.
And the real issue with sportswashing is that itās the countries that do it think itās working. Whether it actually works is really a non issue.
Yes for the working bs meter crowd itās a waste of money. Itās like a guy is a known wife beater. So he starts sponsoring womenās sports leagues in town to soften his image.
For most people theyād see it for what it is. For some though theyād fall for it and say he canāt be that bad a guy, look what heās doing for womenās sports.
Bottom line is PT Barnum was right.
Stu1961 Finally some common sense regarding the sportswashing smokescreen.
[https://www.fastcompany.com/90765385/liv-golf-saudi-arabia-sportswashing-backlash]
Great article. How anyone thinks sports washing works is beyond me.
A point I've made many times, seems beyond refute to me:
But in the context of modern geopolitics, thereās actually not much evidence that this strategy works. āI donāt know whoās looking at China any differently now than they did six months ago, and thereās been an Olympics in between,ā sports commentator and television host Bomani Jones told Freakonomics. āI donāt think thereās a single person in the United States who, between the 2008 Olympics and the 2022 Olympics, has changed their opinion of China based on what theyāve seen on television [Olympics coverage].ā
Sneakylong And the real issue with sportswashing is that itās the countries that do it think itās working. Whether it actually works is really a non issue.
Whether it works or not is the WHOLE issue. Who cares what they think? If it doesn't work it doesn't work. If they want to make certain athletes mega rich by paying them I'm all for it. Let them blow their money AND they get nothing for it. That's actually a win/win.
Sneakylong Yes for the working bs meter crowd itās a waste of money.
Anybody so stupid to fall for sports washing BS already has no clue that SA is a bad place They don't need convincing otherwise because they have no clue.
Sneaky & Gary ....... It appears from all this 'sportswashing' etc. discussion here and elsewhere,
that it may actually have the opposite effect - generating even more highly negative views. Ironic.
I know that it has pushed me even more in that direction. YMMV
garyt1957 Whether it works or not is the WHOLE issue. Who cares what they think? If it doesn't work it doesn't work. If they want to make certain athletes mega rich by paying them I'm all for it. Let them blow their money AND they get nothing for it. That's actually a win/win
We're never going to agree on this. Let's try this. It's working for some of the ex PGA players. They're saying all kinds of flattering things about the Saudi's getting into golf and how it will grow the game and how they're letting women play golf for free to grow the game blah, blah, blah.
And even if they're being disingenuous and just parroting what they think they need to say to justify taking the Saudi money, it's doing just what the Saudi's want. It's the effort to soften their image. And if it backfires more than helps that's great. But some are buying it I'm sure.
An well know actor gets caught with a prostitute. His image goes in the toilet. He hires a public relations outfit to clean up his image. Does all kinds of good deeds to try and get peoples minds off his bad behavior. Does it work?
For many they'll see thru it. For the gullible it will work.
And where the money comes from makes a difference for many. Would you work for someone knowing that the money they paid you came from drugs, human trafficking or any other illegal gain?
Some would and some wouldn't I'm sure. I guess we'd have to stand outside on the street and ask people how can countries with human rights issues change their image in the world? And have a list, with one being getting into sports on a large worldwide scale and letting women play golf for free.
The letting women play golf for free may work better than sponsoring LIV. lol
Sneakylong how can countries with human rights issues change their image in the world?
Answer: You accept a meeting request from the POTUS that is already scheduled for later this month. If Biden has to stoop down and kiss the Prince's rings during introductions, I'll lose my shit.
Geopolitics is ugly aināt it?
But back to whether people believe ridiculous things like āsportswashingā. Hypothetically speaking, a pathologically lying, failed businessman grifter / con artist, reality tv show host with no government experience runs for president.
Can he get elected? Is that harder to believe than a country with human rights abuses trying to cleanse their image with sports?
Which one is more ridiculous for people to fall for? Lol
Sneakylong a country with human rights abuses
Throughout human history, no country/entity has had clean hands. It is a matter of degree &
historical time frame.
Absolutely. Netflix is showing Who We Are: A History of Racism in America. Historically weāve committed some of the worst human rights atrocities in history.
But hopefully countries progress and expand human rights like we have. Although weāve slid back just recently and may slide further. Sometimes itās two steps forward and then a step backwards.
Hopefully the Saudiās will start to realize human rights and practice it.
Yup. No one has clean hands historically. And itās a constant battle.
garyt1957
Not only am I not sure that itās the WHOLE issue ā¦ Iām not even convinced itās an issue at all. I keep getting told that āthis is what they thinkā, or āthis is what they are trying to doā ā¦ with little to no evidence. Why might it not be a logical business venture where the PGA is targeted as ripe for plucking? They made over 1.5 billion on their last publicly available tax return, and are virtually without real competition ā¦and a portion (perhaps significant) of their members donāt believe they are being dealt a fair hand. Why wouldnāt someone, with the monetary means to do so, either want a part, or all, of that pie?
When SA invested in Boeing and Uber, were they accused of transportation washing?
