U.S.Open - Phil Mick - Sabotaging His Brand

[CT Pirate]

Given the off season and the U.S.Open starting tomorrow, plus being a brand guy and sports fan (plus an OK golfer) thought I would stimulate some conversation about the LIV Series and the leading man for them Phil Mickelson. I maintain he is killing his brand and more importantly his legacy. Wondering what all of you think. Here's a link to a piece I penned on Linkedin about the subject. https://www.linkedin.com/pulse/phil-mickelson-sabotaging-his-own-brand-bill-field

What say all of you Setonia guys - especially the golfers in the group.

 

[SPK145]

Given the off season and the U.S.Open starting tomorrow, plus being a brand guy and sports fan (plus an OK golfer) thought I would stimulate some conversation about the LIV Series and the leading man for them Phil Mickelson. I maintain he is killing his brand and more importantly his legacy. Wondering what all of you think. Here's a link to a piece I penned on Linkedin about the subject. https://www.linkedin.com/pulse/phil-mickelson-sabotaging-his-own-brand-bill-field

What say all of you Setonia guys - especially the golfers in the group.

For a $200 million guarantee, he doesn’t need a brand anymore.

 

[SHUSA]

Given the off season and the U.S.Open starting tomorrow, plus being a brand guy and sports fan (plus an OK golfer) thought I would stimulate some conversation about the LIV Series and the leading man for them Phil Mickelson. I maintain he is killing his brand and more importantly his legacy. Wondering what all of you think. Here's a link to a piece I penned on Linkedin about the subject. https://www.linkedin.com/pulse/phil-mickelson-sabotaging-his-own-brand-bill-field

What say all of you Setonia guys - especially the golfers in the group.

dustin johnson is leading man

 

[GymRat]

Given the off season and the U.S.Open starting tomorrow, plus being a brand guy and sports fan (plus an OK golfer) thought I would stimulate some conversation about the LIV Series and the leading man for them Phil Mickelson. I maintain he is killing his brand and more importantly his legacy. Wondering what all of you think. Here's a link to a piece I penned on Linkedin about the subject. https://www.linkedin.com/pulse/phil-mickelson-sabotaging-his-own-brand-bill-field

What say all of you Setonia guys - especially the golfers in the group.

Phil ..not quite the nice guy his public persona makes him out to be. Heavy heavy gambler, drinker and you wonder about all that time spent in vegas.

 

[The SHUttle]

Phil ..not quite the nice guy his public persona makes him out to be. Heavy heavy gambler, drinker and you wonder about all that time spent in vegas.

It is pretty clear to me that he is a very awkward, weird guy in real life who is probably a pain to deal with, and I pay little to no attention to golf.

 

[Halldan1]

Phil Mickelson as popular as ever at US Open: ‘Monster ovation’

Phil Mickelson has been seen signing autographs all week at The Country Club, seemingly as popular as ever.

nypost.com

Phil Mickelson as popular as ever at US Open: ‘Monster ovation’​

By Mark Cannizzaro

 

[CT Pirate]

Phil Mickelson as popular as ever at US Open: ‘Monster ovation’

Phil Mickelson has been seen signing autographs all week at The Country Club, seemingly as popular as ever.

nypost.com

Phil Mickelson as popular as ever at US Open: ‘Monster ovation’​

By Mark Cannizzaro

Interesting. Phil is the golfer of the people - flaws and all. The consideration will be is this halo enough to "carry" the LIV Series. Does he bring those eyeballs to those events. Fascinating brand story to follow for this brand guy. Thanks for the share of the piece. Cannizzaro does a great job covering golf for the Post.

 

[SHUMatt]

Phil is a hall of fame golfer and 6 time major winner. His legacy is already established. He may lose some sponsors but will offset that the LIV money he will make. Yes Phil likes to gamble, maybe more than he should. He also does a ton for charity, the armed forces and underprivileged kids donating time, books, supplies etc. Phil knows all the names of the clubhouse workers, always brings them food and tips them way more than any other player on tour. Phil is great with the fans. He will stay for hours after an event or practice round signing autographs. Others on tour walk past the fans as if they were not even there. I just got done reading a book about him. Some things are not so good about Phil like his inside trading allegations and other things paint a much nicer picture.

 

[SHUSource]

No one's legacy is set until they're gone, and he is flushing his down the toilet in one fell swoop.

But, you know, money.

 

[HALL85]

Don’t see how this LIV tour is financially sustainable, but who knows the motivation of the Saudi’s. I read somewhere that Tigers career earnings are $120 million. (Granted the endorsements dwarf that), but if you’re Dustin Johnson what would you do?

There are a lot of very good young golfers on tour, but no one who has been dominating for an extended period.

Golf as a sport has had a resurgence with younger golfers driving that…thank you COVID. PGA still has the history and prestige. Maybe prize money goes up.

 

[SPK145]

No one's legacy is set until they're gone, and he is flushing his down the toilet in one fell swoop.
be
But, you know, money.

That's all it's about (and in this case blood money) but at least he acknowledges as much and doesn't hide behind some silly platitudes.

 

[HallBall'n]

LOL, I get a kick out of all these comments about how bad LIV Golf is.

I watched it at work Thursday and Friday, free of commercial interruption in an action packed (don't blink) shotgun format featuring my favorite player, Dustin Johnson. I watched Saturday after I completed my round at Charleston Springs. I thought it was a terrific 3-day event.

I watched PGA golf on Sunday. I thought it was a great event as well.

I realize the PGA Tour is seriously threatened by all the money thrown at these players, so they are using media bias & woke-ism to pollute the product and tarnish any player's reputation that participates.

Many more big-name players will join over the next two years as these contracts will get bigger and bigger.

But honestly, these organizers are making a billion dollars a day ($1 BILLION A DAY). And who (in part) do we have to thank for that??

Phil will be fine (sans the gambling fix).

 

[HallX2]

Phil is a professional athlete. Not the pope. But likely has fewer sins than many of our popes. He will always be popular. His brand will survive. And the hypocrisy is monumental from a country that buys Saudi oil.

 

[shu09]

I wonder if there's something else other than the gambling going on in Phil's personal life that has led to all of this. He looked like a hostage in the press conference at the US Open on Monday.

 

[catholicman]

Phil is a professional athlete. Not the pope. But likely has fewer sins than many of our popes. He will always be popular. His brand will survive. And the hypocrisy is monumental from a country that buys Saudi oil.

Nice sucker punch at the Catholic Church. The vast majority of popes were saints. Many were martyrs. Nonetheless, there's no guarantee that a pope will be holy, no guarantee that a pope will even get to heaven.

 

[catholicman]

I wonder if there's something else other than the gambling going on in Phil's personal life that has led to all of this. He looked like a hostage in the press conference at the US Open on Monday.

Gambling is enough of an explanation. But then again, $200 million would be irresistible for many people. Just look at our college football and basketball coaches and the unethical things they do to get the payday of a multimillion dollar annual salary and keep it.

 

[HallX2]

Nice sucker punch at the Catholic Church. The vast majority of popes were saints. Many were martyrs. Nonetheless, there's no guarantee that a pope will be holy, no guarantee that a pope will even get to heaven.

Too many popes, cardinals, bishops and others in leadership have covered up the atrocities of abusive priests. I’m proud to be Catholic. I make no apologies for my metaphor.

 

[Bud Boomer]

It sucks a bunch of great players will be off the tour. I hope whatever happens we end up with a better golf product to watch, which as a fan is the only thing I care about.

 

[SHUSource]

That's all it's about (and in this case blood money) but at least he acknowledges as much and doesn't hide behind some silly platitudes.

Right, but I don't think that imbues him with any integrity. He's being honest about saying, "Yes, I know they're inhuman murderers, and that's bad, but they pay me a lot."

So props for honesty - it's better than those who would pretend otherwise - but his soul is just as vacant. He's a terrible guy.

 

[HALL85]

Right, but I don't think that imbues him with any integrity. He's being honest about saying, "Yes, I know they're inhuman murderers, and that's bad, but they pay me a lot."

So props for honesty - it's better than those who would pretend otherwise - but his soul is just as vacant. He's a terrible guy.

But does that go for everyone? Do we check to see if anything we purchase comes from Saudi Arabia, Russia, oppressive countries. NBA just as guilty for taking money from China.

 

[seton1996]

But does that go for everyone? Do we check to see if anything we purchase comes from Saudi Arabia, Russia, oppressive countries. NBA just as guilty for taking money from China.

Exactly media seems to be making a huge deal out of LIV golf.

But most have no problem with NBA relations with China, Olympics have been in oppressive countries like China, Russia, etc for years, not to mention the Soccer World Cup (this year Qatar, 2018 Russia). European dominated sports have long had sponsorship deals with Saudis.

My thoughts if you don't like it, dont watch it. It will be interesting if the LIV money is sustainable, I just do not see it, but I do not follow golf that close, and really do not follow finances at all.

 

[HALL85]

Exactly media seems to be making a huge deal out of LIV golf.

But most have no problem with NBA relations with China, Olympics have been in oppressive countries like China, Russia, etc for years, not to mention the Soccer World Cup (this year Qatar, 2018 Russia). European dominated sports have long had sponsorship deals with Saudis.

My thoughts if you don't like it, dont watch it. It will be interesting if the LIV money is sustainable, I just do not see it, but I do not follow golf that close, and really do not follow finances at all.

Phil never claimed to be a beacon of global humanity. It’s entertainment…up to the consumer to watch or not. History shows the public doesn’t care about non sports related positions by athletes.

Don’t understand the economics either. Is the LIV breakthrough golf entertainment or just another USFL, WHA, ABA, etc. attempt that will not sustain itself. Maybe the parallel is F1 racing, but the sponsorship money is the real difference.

 

[catholicman]

Too many popes, cardinals, bishops and others in leadership have covered up the atrocities of abusive priests. I’m proud to be Catholic. I make no apologies for my metaphor.

In a thread about Phil M.? Unnecessary and offensive. The Catholic dog gets kicked too often.

 

[SHUSource]

But does that go for everyone? Do we check to see if anything we purchase comes from Saudi Arabia, Russia, oppressive countries. NBA just as guilty for taking money from China.

There's always going to be more scrutiny on the choice of an individual, especially in a case such as this, where there is an individual making a distinct choice to ignore what he acknowledges is evil and lend his name and abilities to it for their joint purposes of profit. Once you involve the business decisions of nebulous organizations (like the NBA) to create nebulous partnerships, it reduces the culpability of one single person and spreads the abilty to plausibly deny knowledge of wrongdoing across an organization. It's still bullshit, of course, but the damage will never accrue to an organization's reputation the way it will to an individual.

Also, "we" don't all have the options to be so morally discerning. If I drive a gas-powered car, I don't have the ability nor the economic freedom to make sure my fuel is coming from responsible-acting nations. I have to get gas where the gas is.

Someone like Phil Mickelson has plenty of choices. He had already become a millionaire hundreds of times over playing in the PGA and didn't need (or shouldn't have needed to) peddle his virtue and forfeit thirty years of public good will in his fifties in order to chase millions more in a way he openly acknowledges puts money in the coffers of murderous thugs.

 

[HALL85]

There's always going to be more scrutiny on the choice of an individual, especially in a case such as this, where there is an individual making a distinct choice to ignore what he acknowledges is evil and lend his name and abilities to it for their joint purposes of profit. Once you involve the business decisions of nebulous organizations (like the NBA) to create nebulous partnerships, it reduces the culpability of one single person and spreads the abilty to plausibly deny knowledge of wrongdoing across an organization. It's still bullshit, of course, but the damage will never accrue to an organization's reputation the way it will to an individual.

Disagree. Possibly even worse with the NBA since the numbers are bigger. Then they also do the virtue signaling on social issues to make themselves appear to be on a high moral ground.

Also, "we" don't all have the options to be so morally discerning. If I drive a gas-powered car, I don't have the ability nor the economic freedom to make sure my fuel is coming from responsible-acting nations. I have to get gas where the gas is.

That’s an excuse. Sure, some things are impossible to know the source, but if you’re going to take Phil to task, look in the mirror and ask are you doing the same when the source is known (Nike??). Do as I say; not as I do?

Someone like Phil Mickelson has plenty of choices. He had already become a millionaire hundreds of times over playing in the PGA and didn't need (or shouldn't have needed to) peddle his virtue and forfeit thirty years of public good will in his fifties in order to chase millions more in a way he openly acknowledges puts money in the coffers of murderous thugs.

Phil is not claiming any virtue from what I can see. Apparently he does some nice stuff, but I don’t see him advertising it.

 

[Gritty5837]

The hypocrisy on this is funny. Gosh forbid he take the $200 million. The NFL employs guys who have punched women in the face & is going to let Deshaun Watson play. The NBA told Daryl Morey to shut up when he voiced support for Hong Kong and they have a facility in the same area the Chinese commit genocide on Uyghur Muslims. I don't see anyone condemning former SHU players for playing in the NBA.

There's always going to be more scrutiny on the choice of an individual, especially in a case such as this, where there is an individual making a distinct choice to ignore what he acknowledges is evil and lend his name and abilities to it for their joint purposes of profit. Once you involve the business decisions of nebulous organizations (like the NBA) to create nebulous partnerships, it reduces the culpability of one single person and spreads the abilty to plausibly deny knowledge of wrongdoing across an organization. It's still bullshit, of course, but the damage will never accrue to an organization's reputation the way it will to an individual.

Also, "we" don't all have the options to be so morally discerning. If I drive a gas-powered car, I don't have the ability nor the economic freedom to make sure my fuel is coming from responsible-acting nations. I have to get gas where the gas is.

Someone like Phil Mickelson has plenty of choices. He had already become a millionaire hundreds of times over playing in the PGA and didn't need (or shouldn't have needed to) peddle his virtue and forfeit thirty years of public good will in his fifties in order to chase millions more in a way he openly acknowledges puts money in the coffers of murderous thugs.

You're either willingly working for an organization that actively does business with a communist country like China or you're not. There is no middle ground. If you're willingly partnering with people or groups who have committed human rights crimes or actively work with said groups, its all the same. You can justify it a million ways but its still a justification. If Phil is peddling his virtue so are many athletes playing in American leagues.

 

[SHUSource]

I wouldn't say that the NBA comes out of a close inspection clean, either, but if you can't grasp the differences between the NBA and LIV Golf and understand the implications of each organization's activities, then this might not be the conversation for you.

The NBA is an American basketball league that, because of its global appeal, has become marketable to China. China, as we know, is fraught with a record of human-rights violations. I think we all agree on this. But the NBA itself, as an organization, is not owned by, controlled by, nor intended to funnel money directly into the accounts of people who literally run an oppressive governmental regime, as LIV Golf does. [This piece did a good job underscoring just how complicated and hard-to-understand the NBA-China relationship is.] LIV Golf is owned by the very top people in Saudi Arabia, including Mohammed bin Salman, who are directly responsible for murder on an individual level and for human-rights violations on a national scale -- directly responsible, not via a complicated, intricate, multi-tiered relationship with governments that participate in that sort of thing.

Also -- and this speaks to the individual choices made in consideration to the alternatives -- there is already a lucrative professional golf association from which Phil Mickelson has become impossibly right. There is not another professional basketball organization that offers top players to earn a living anywhere near comparable to the level the NBA does.

It's a slippery slope and when you begin to scrutinize every organization for criminal associations or relationships, no matter how adjacent they are to the organizations, nor how central to their very purpose that criminality is, you won't have any places left that stand up to examination. Everything of significance is tangled up in something else.

But when you have one that is so manifestly and directly corrupted by the closest possible, first-degree association with political murderers and top-tier human-rights violators, as we do with LIV Golf, it really stands out from the rest. And that's why Mickelson's decision to hop into bed with them reveals what an empty husk of a person he actually is.

 

[Bluebeard]

Does the LIV allow trans golfers on their tour? Thought I toss another hot button topic in for fun. Not many women who claim they are men compete in sports against men.

 

[HALL85]

I wouldn't say that the NBA comes out of a close inspection clean, either, but if you can't grasp the differences between the NBA and LIV Golf and understand the implications of each organization's activities, then this might not be the conversation for you.

The NBA is an American basketball league that, because of its global appeal, has become marketable to China. China, as we know, is fraught with a record of human-rights violations. I think we all agree on this. But the NBA itself, as an organization, is not owned by, controlled by, nor intended to funnel money directly into the accounts of people who literally run an oppressive governmental regime, as LIV Golf does. [This piece did a good job underscoring just how complicated and hard-to-understand the NBA-China relationship is.] LIV Golf is owned by the very top people in Saudi Arabia, including Mohammed bin Salman, who are directly responsible for murder on an individual level and for human-rights violations on a national scale -- directly responsible, not via a complicated, intricate, multi-tiered relationship with governments that participate in that sort of thing.

Also -- and this speaks to the individual choices made in consideration to the alternatives -- there is already a lucrative professional golf association from which Phil Mickelson has become impossibly right. There is not another professional basketball organization that offers top players to earn a living anywhere near comparable to the level the NBA does.

It's a slippery slope and when you begin to scrutinize every organization for criminal associations or relationships, no matter how adjacent they are to the organizations, nor how central to their very purpose that criminality is, you won't have any places left that stand up to examination. Everything of significance is tangled up in something else.

But when you have one that is so manifestly and directly corrupted by the closest possible, first-degree association with political murderers and top-tier human-rights violators, as we do with LIV Golf, it really stands out from the rest. And that's why Mickelson's decision to hop into bed with them reveals what an empty husk of a person he actually is.

So you created your own line in the sand which works for you. That doesn’t mean it applies to everyone else. I don’t support what Mickelson or any of these golfers are doing, but at least he’s transparent about it. The NBA on the other hand…

 

[SHUSource]

It's not an arbitrary line. In Phil's case, he - an individual - can make a simple decision for himself that changes the arc of the entire story completely. You have a couple other guys make the same choice and LIV Golf is over. It just goes away. Saudi Arabia and MBS are still there, but they don't have Phil Mickelson as their in-house organ grinder anymore, sanitizing the organization. It's so clean that only the bad actors are hurt.

What individual in the case of the NBA can make a unilateral decision that effectively ends that situation? And what would the decision be? What is that decision supposed to accomplish?

 

[HALL85]

It's not an arbitrary line. In Phil's case, he - an individual - can make a simple decision for himself that changes the arc of the entire story completely. You have a couple other guys make the same choice and LIV Golf is over. It just goes away. Saudi Arabia and MBS are still there, but they don't have Phil Mickelson as their in-house organ grinder anymore, sanitizing the organization. It's so clean that only the bad actors are hurt.

What individual in the case of the NBA can make a unilateral decision that effectively ends that situation? And what would the decision be? What is that decision supposed to accomplish?

Adam Silver

 

[Gritty5837]

It's not an arbitrary line. In Phil's case, he - an individual - can make a simple decision for himself that changes the arc of the entire story completely. You have a couple other guys make the same choice and LIV Golf is over. It just goes away. Saudi Arabia and MBS are still there, but they don't have Phil Mickelson as their in-house organ grinder anymore, sanitizing the organization. It's so clean that only the bad actors are hurt.

What individual in the case of the NBA can make a unilateral decision that effectively ends that situation? And what would the decision be? What is that decision supposed to accomplish?

If Lebron publicly said the NBA needs to stop associating with a communist country that commits genocide the NBA wouldn't be forced to take action? It won't happen b/c like the NBA, Lebron would lose too much money doing so.

Are you saying if Phil didn't leave, Dustin Johnson would not have left for $125 million? If you answer yes, how can you position that as fact? Dustin didn't even want to play for the US Olympic team because he'd be playing for free. The Saudi's have billions upon billions of dollars, many players would have and will keep leaving for LIV.

It's a slippery slope and when you begin to scrutinize every organization for criminal associations or relationships, no matter how adjacent they are to the organizations, nor how central to their very purpose that criminality is, you won't have any places left that stand up to examination. Everything of significance is tangled up in something else.

Its not a slippery slope and you just proved my point. Phil or any other LIV player isn't any worse than a guy like Lebron who clearly understands what is happening in China and doesn't say a word because both the NBA & himself make a ton of money by partnering with them.

Each person & organization has made a decision that the money to be made outweighs any sort of moral or ethical line being crossed.

 

[SHUSource]

Adam Silver

Even if he could make a unilateral decision like that -- which he certainly cannot; he works for the owners -- what, specifically, is the decision? And what, specifically, is it supposed to accomplish?

I know who the commissioner is. It doesn't address the quandary.

 

[SHUSource]

If Lebron publicly said the NBA needs to stop associating with a communist country that commits genocide the NBA wouldn't be forced to take action? It won't happen b/c like the NBA, Lebron would lose too much money doing so.

Are you saying if Phil didn't leave, Dustin Johnson would not have left for $125 million? If you answer yes, how can you position that as fact? Dustin didn't even want to play for the US Olympic team because he'd be playing for free. The Saudi's have billions upon billions of dollars, many players would have and will keep leaving for LIV.



Its not a slippery slope and you just proved my point. Phil or any other LIV player isn't any worse than a guy like Lebron who clearly understands what is happening in China and doesn't say a word because both the NBA & himself make a ton of money by partnering with them.

Each person & organization has made a decision that the money to be made outweighs any sort of moral or ethical line being crossed.

I've enumerated the differences and you're not absorbing them; that's not on me. But again, even besides all that, there is not another professional basketball league through which LeBron James could have become a billionaire not anywhere near as wealthy as he is. Where else could he have gone, Europe? To make what, a few million dollars? If we accept that he apples his trade in the only forum befitting his level of skill, as is his right, what alternative is there for him? To not play professional basketball? The moneytary gulf between the two choices is unfathomably enormous.

Mickelson has already accrued hundreds of millions of dollars by playing in the world's premier professional gold organization. The PGA is the apex of his field. But he decided that even in his fifties, he'll sell himself for a gross (and unnecessary) money grab. And the others will, too.

If there's no slippery slope, then feel free to renounce Seton Hall, which had historically been formally associated with, employed, and done lucrative business with sundry criminals of various stripes. Ah, but that's much more complicated, isn't it? And you can probably think of any number of excuses not to.

 

[HALL85]

Even if he could make a unilateral decision like that -- which he certainly cannot; he works for the owners -- what, specifically, is the decision? And what, specifically, is it supposed to accomplish?

I know who the commissioner is. It doesn't address the quandary.

I was just answering your absurd question with an absurd answer. Sure, the owners would need to weigh in, so big deal? Has any one of them even spoken out about the human rights issues?

they should be making plans to exit the relationship until China demonstrates that they stop the abuse and repression. Pretty obvious, isn’t it?

 

[Halldan1]

I'll be moving this to LOTS shortly.

 

[SHUSource]

You're not addressing the tangled nature of the issue, nor the question.

Once it moves to LOTS, I'm out. I don't go there, mostly for my own sanity.

 

[Gritty5837]

I've enumerated the differences and you're not absorbing them; that's not on me. But again, even besides all that, there is not another professional basketball league through which LeBron James could have become a billionaire not anywhere near as wealthy as he is. Where else could he have gone, Europe? To make what, a few million dollars? If we accept that he apples his trade in the only forum befitting his level of skill, as is his right, what alternative is there for him? To not play professional basketball? The moneytary gulf between the two choices is unfathomably enormous.

Mickelson has already accrued hundreds of millions of dollars by playing in the world's premier professional gold organization. The PGA is the apex of his field. But he decided that even in his fifties, he'll sell himself for a gross (and unnecessary) money grab. And the others will, too.

If there's no slippery slope, then feel free to renounce Seton Hall, which had historically been formally associated with, employed, and done lucrative business with sundry criminals of various stripes. Ah, but that's much more complicated, isn't it? And you can probably think of any number of excuses not to.

Phil Mickleson took a ton of public heat for entertaining LIV and Dustin Johnson still left. DJ left for 125 million reasons, not because of Phil Mickleson.

You're argument wasn't never about where a guy can maximize his monetary capabilities until this post. If you're now switching your point to Lebron had no choice but to play in the NBA to maximize his monetary potential compared to alternatives, you realize that logic would support Phil leaving for LIV? Where else could Phil go to earn $200 mil guaranteed, the PGA tour?

Lebron chose the NBA and also a lucrative partnership with Nike to maximize his worth knowing full well about the child labor in China and the other atrocities committed.

Phil chose LIV to maximize his worth knowing full well about the atrocities committed in Saudi Arabia & their ties to terrorism.

What defines an "unnecessary money grab" ? Do you know his exact finances? His aspirations? Lot of rumors Phil has some serious serious gambling debt. Is the NBA not committing an unnecessary money grab by partnering with China? They'd be fine w/o the partnership, but certainly less profitable.

To say its more right or wrong for Phil to take $200 guaranteed million after he already made money compared to Lebron is irrelevant. Blood money is blood money. That was one of your original points right? Phil took blood money so he is a terrible person.

You're not addressing the tangled nature of the issue, nor the question.

Once it moves to LOTS, I'm out. I don't go there, mostly for my own sanity.

Hall85 and myself have met you head on with this. Disagreements are totally fine but to pretend as if your points are being ignored is being disingenuous.

 

[HALL85]

They all take the money. At least Phil isn’t a phony, taking it and then trying to make himself out to be a social justice warrior, by taking a knee, wearing a tee shirt with a meme or tweeting some disingenuous nonsense about a cause.