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Credit: Victor Fraile-USA TODAY Sports
On April 24, 2025, The Athletic published a special report by Jacob Whitehead about Turki Al-Sheikh, the Chairman of Saudi Arabia’s General Entertainment Authority (GEA) and President of the Saudi Boxing Federation.
The over-3,500-word profile explores how he became a power broker in global combat sports and details the controversies behind his meteoric rise. Whitehead lays out the story of a man who appears publicly to be the savior of boxing thanks to the backing of Saudi Arabia’s Public Investment Fund (PIF), his ability to get rival promoters to work together on major fights, and his revival of the iconic The Ring magazine.
The profile also paints a picture of the darker aspects of Al-Sheikh’s rise to power as a trusted enforcer and confidant to Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman (MBS). The report offers disturbing allegations of intimidation, with accounts of Saudi critics being picked up by masked security personnel and brought to Al-Sheikh over social media critiques of his sports ministry. Former detainees allege they were sent to specific sections of Riyadh’s Al-Ha’ir prison (known as the “Tutu Wing,” a reference to Al-Sheikh’s nickname) for opposing his projects. Meanwhile, human rights organizations argue his sports initiatives launder the Saudi government’s international reputation via sportswashing in part to obscure human rights violations.
Given Al-Sheikh’s stature in boxing and connections to one of the richest governments in the world, it’s the kind of story that The Athletic likes to repromote from time to time. It did just that on Wednesday, July 29, via its TheAthleticFC social media channels. The timing seemed right given that he is set for a key role in planning for the 2034 men’s World Cup, which will be held in Saudi Arabia.
Shortly after that post went up, a response from Al-Sheikh was shared across several of The Ring’s social media channels.
“What is the agenda here from The Athletic and New York Times? This fictitious story about me was published in April 2025, yet it’s still being posted on social media by The Athletic 1.5 years later? And this is the 4th or 5th time now. Why?” he wrote. “Maybe they want to distract from their NFL reporter scandal.
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Sad to see once great publication like NYT become yellow pages. The story is filled with lies and I wasn’t given chance to comment… They need to change their slogan ‘All the News That’s Fit to Print’ to ‘All Lies That’s Fit to Print and Keep Pushing and Printing More and More,'”If Al-Sheikh was unfamiliar with the Streisand Effect before posting that, he is familiar with it now, as many people noted that they onlybecame aware of the reportbecause of his response.
That social media post was deleted from all of The Ring’s accounts shortly thereafter.
The same goes for an X post by Mike Coppinger, The Ring’s senior insider who has offered similar defenses before. He offered a retort of his own to The Athletic’s report and defended his boss, refuting some of the allegations. The reporter, who worked for The Athletic for several years, also said he’d never seen the outlet repromote an article this much before.
That post has also since been deleted.
While Al-Sheikh was praised for purchasing The Ring and reviving the iconic outlet, it has faced several controversies in the years since. Chief among them are claims that the publication rankings favor fighters aligned with Riyadh Season and Al-Sheikh’s promotional projects. Critics have also accused The Ring of transitioning into a propaganda arm for Saudi Arabia’s boxing initiatives.
Oscar De La Hoya, who sold the magazine to Al-Sheikh, later regretted the sale, saying the century-long rankings had “lost their integrity.” He also said the once-prestigious The Ring belt, designed to recognize the lineal champion in each weight division, has been reduced to a marketing tool. Others have said similar things, undermining sanctioning bodies and centralizing matchmaking under Saudi-backed entities.
We live in the golden age of incredibly wealthy people who feel they are above any kind of criticism or accountability. The irony is that true accountability will probably never come Al-Sheikh’s way, which is what must make The Athletic’s report so infuriating.
And the fact that he doesn’t want anyone to read it makes it all the more important and worthwhile that you do so.
The post Turki Al-Sheikh really doesn’t want anyone reading The Athletic’s special report about him appeared first on Awful Announcing.
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