Golf legend Greg Norman found himself on the wrong side of public opinion after he appeared to downplay the 2018 murder of Saudi journalist Jamal Khashoggi.
The two-time British Open winner is now a top executive with the LIV Golf Invitational, which is funded by the Saudi government.
Asked about Khashoggi during a media day event on Wednesday, Norman said the journalist's death at the hands of the Saudi government was a mere "mistake."
“Everybody has owned up to it, right?" Norman said, according to UK outlet The Times. "It has been spoken about, from what I’ve read, going on what you guys reported. Take ownership, no matter what it is. Look, we’ve all made mistakes and you just want to learn from those mistakes and how you can correct them going forward.”
Norman made similar remarks on Tuesday in an interview with Sky Sports.
"It's reprehensible what happened with Khashoggi. Own up to it, talk about it," he said. "I'm not going to get into politics, I don't know what the Saudi government does. I don't want to get into that. Every country has a cross to bear."
The 67-year-old Australia native also denied that he "answers to" officials in the Saudi government.
"They're not my bosses. We're independent. I do not answer to Saudi Arabia. I do not answer to [Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman]," he said. "I answer to my board of directors, and MBS is not on that. Simple as that."
The seeming dismissal of Khashoggi's grisly murder didn't sit well on social media, where users were quick to register their disgust.
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