DORAL, FLA. (WSVN) - Loved ones of victims of 9/11 are livid as a golf tournament is set to tee off in Doral.
On Thursday, 9/11 Justice, an advocacy group of survivors and family members, held their own news conference.
For them, the LIV Golf Tournament pours salt in the wound because it is funded by Saudi leaders and held at former President Donald Trump’s golf course.
“Our oldest brother Danny was murdered on the 89th floor of the South Tower,” said Dennis McGinley.
“I was a survivor of the collapse of the South Tower 21 years ago. I was working on the 80th floor at the time,” said Tim Frolich.
“The United States government has never stood up to the kingdom. We haven’t held them accountable for what they did 21 years ago,” said Brett Eagelson, whose father was killed on 9/11.
Amid the controversy, Trump spent the day in Doral playing a round of golf ahead of the tournament being hosted at his golf course.
Back in 2016, he met with the group and promised to declassify documents that showed the Saudi involvement with the terrorist attacks, but he never did.
Instead, President Joe Biden declassified a portion of the report last year.
Juliet Scauso, the daughter of a firefighter who was killed on 9/11, expanded on the group’s issues with the golf tournament.
“How much money would it take for you to turn your back on your country and on your fellow Americans?” she said. “If you knew who played a role in the murder of your loved one and nearly 3,000 others in the worst terrorist attack our nation has ever seen, would you not make every effort to obtain justice for them?”
Scauso’s father perished while trying to save people on that horrible day.
“What if those who murdered your loved one continuously evaded justice, then came into your country to do business, to buy off your fellow Americans and to change the public’s opinion of them?” she said.
According to U.S. intelligence, Saudi officials are also responsible for the murder of Washington Post journalist Jamal Khashoggi.
Now these people hope the golfers who are in it for a $50 million purse will listen to their pleas.
“Phil Mickelson and other golfers recently stated that golf is a force for good. They’re turning it into a force for greed, pain and sportswashing,” said McGinley.
“I believe, maybe on a small scale, we can be an example of what it takes to see each other’s points, on a very painful and personal issue such as 9/11,” said Frolich as he fought back tears.
Members of 9/11 Justice said they hope to sit down with some of the players to share their views.
The tournament is set to start Friday.
Copyright 2024 Sunbeam Television Corp. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed.