Arlo White has a new job, and it might not be one that longtime Premier League viewers would have expected.
White has been confirmed as the lead commentator of LIV Golf, a controversial new Saudi-backed golf tour that is set to hold its first event this week in London.
Multiple reports have stated that after nine years, White has been replaced by Peter Drury as the lead commentator for NBC’s coverage of the Premier League.
Though NBC has not officially announced the move, White all but confirmed it himself with a post on Twitter last week.
Thank you gents. One day I’ll tell you how it all went down. I appreciate your kindness 🙌 https://t.co/Pq3PP1YcbH
— Arlo White (@arlowhite) June 2, 2022
What is LIV Golf?
LIV Golf is a new professional golf tour that is funded by the Public Investment Fund, the sovereign wealth fund of Saudi Arabia that also recently purchased Premier League side Newcastle United.
The new tour is aiming to compete with the PGA Tour by enticing established golf stars with huge payouts.
But the tour has come under fire for being an alleged instrument of “sportswashing,” the process by which a country can launder a poor reputation by participating in global sports.
Golf legend Greg Norman, the CEO of LIV Golf, recently came under fire for his comments on the 2018 assassination of Saudi dissident Jamal Khashoggi.
“Look, we’ve all made mistakes, and you just want to learn by those mistakes and how you can correct them going forward,” Norman told reporters.
The CIA has concluded that Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman ordered Khashoggi’s assassination.