https://www.golfdigest.com/story/pga-tour-countersues-liv-mickelson-dechambeau
"In a Wednesday night filing, the tour asserts that the case is not about unfair competitionāāif anyone is competing unfairly, it is LIV, not the tourāāand accuses the LIV-backed lawsuit as a ācynical effort to avoid competition and to freeride off of the tourās investment in the development of professional golf.ā
āGolfers who join LIV must sign long-term exclusive contracts that require them to participate in all LIV events and prohibit them from playing in any tour events occurring in the same week as any LIV event [or any conflicting event whatsoever],ā reads the counter. āLIVās statements regarding golfer freedom are a thinly veiled public relations ploy concocted to disparage the tour and deflect criticism from LIVās own restrictive business model.ā
"Among the tourās reasoning is that LIV requires players to compete in every event on its schedule, that players have surrendered their promotional rights to LIV, that players have requirements to show up to its marketing and sponsor events and that players canāt respond to interviews or media appearances without LIVās blessing. Any existing player sponsors also must be introduced to LIV, and that players must wear LIV-branded apparel.
Additionally, the tour accuses LIV Golf of a coordinated campaign of āongoing interferenceā with contracts between the tour and players strictly so LIV can convince a court to alter the tourās structure to benefit LIV at the expense of the tour."
