Again, you’re creating a strawman. I never said they were as bad as MBS. You’re misinterpreting I’m saying. They’re no better than Mickelson, Norman, Koepka, etc, or anyone else that took the payday they did to join LIV.
I would disagree with that as well. Those players chose to go to LIV. The others didn’t. Also, judging by reports that 90% of the feedback in the players meeting with Monahan was anti-merger (reports said calls to replace Monahan were cheered).
The LIV players made the decision to jump in bed with the Saudis willingly. The players who remained loyal to the Tour did so for various reasons. What do you expect McIlroy and Scheffler to do? Go play in Japan for 1/10th the money and no career legacy? That’s not a reasonable expectation.
With the exception of probably Cam Smith, every “star” player that joined LIV was not viewed in the best light by their peers. Mickelson, Reed, DeChambeu, Johnson, and Koepka were not by and large loved by their peers.