Sports & Entertainment Beat

Welcome back to the "Spotlight!" This may come as a shock to exactly none of you, but people can be really good as casting aside morality in the face of heaps of money. That statement came into sharp focus this week with the news of prominent professional golfers bolting the PGA Tour to join the Saudi Sovereign Wealth Fund-backed LIV Golf professional tour. If you’re like me, your first thought is that “LIV” seems like a poor name for an organization backed by a government that orchestrated the brutal assassination of Saudi dissident journalist Jamal Khashoggi in 2018 or that held mass executions of 81 men after holding kangaroo court proceedings this past March — but, alas “LIV” is the Roman numeral for “54.”  Perhaps it was the kangaroo aspect that attracted Greg Norman to the opportunity of becoming LIV Golf’s C.E.O. (it’s funny because he’s Australian). For professional golfers such as Dustin Johnson and Phil Mickelson, it was almost certainly the money that lured them — $150 million and $200 million, respectively. This of course coming several months after Mickelson was rather colorfully critical of the idea of joining LIV Golf due to its Saudi ties and the attendant association with human rights violations (call it a “moral mulligan,” I guess). To his credit, Tiger Woods was reportedly offered a deal with LIV Golf in the “high nine figures,” but he has (so far) admirably declined, shying away from the shiny prize in the negative spotlight.  For those of you craving a positive "Spotlight," look no further:

• • After having dangled the prospect of his retirement in the absence of a mega contract, Los Angeles Rams pass rusher Aaron Donald restructured his deal such that he will make $95 million by the 2024 NFL season. For any of my superiors reading this, have I mentioned that I’m considering taking up shuffleboard and mahjong on a full-time basis…?
  • Walmart heir Rob Walton, his daughter and son-in-law appear poised to close a $4.65 billion purchase of the Denver Broncos football team — the biggest team purchase in North American sports history. They may count themselves as fortunate, but the really lucky one is going to be whomever Walton subsequently sells the team to at the everyday low price of $24.95.
  • Count Mariah Carey as the latest recording artist to be hit with a lawsuit alleging copyright infringement by a mega-hit song — specifically, Carey’s 1994 perennial holiday favorite “All I Want for Christmas Is You.” Which begs the question: at what point in the past 28 years did the plaintiff hear the song and decide: “hey, that’s mine!”    
  • Todd and Julie Chrisley, stars of the reality television series, "Chrisley Knows Best" face up to 30 years in prison having been found guilty of bank fraud and tax evasion. For media companies looking to air/make available re-runs of the show, might I suggest renaming the series: "Chrisley Should Have Known Better."