Jacob Ogles
NBA players cried foul when the Orlando Magic donated $50,000 to support Ron DeSantis’ presidential ambitions. Now, Florida’s Governor wants to dunk on the entire league.
Financial disclosures released this week show the Orlando Magic donated $50,000 to Never Back Down, a super PAC supporting DeSantis. The revelation drew anger from critics — apparently including some professional basketball players.
The National Basketball Players Association slammed the contribution coming from corporate entity Orlando Magic Ltd.
“A political contribution from the Orlando Magic is alarming given recent comments and policies of its beneficiary,” reads a statement from the association.
“NBA governors, players and personnel have the right to express their personal political views, including through donations and statements. However, if contributions are made on behalf of an entire team, using money earned through the labor of its employees, it is incumbent upon the team governors to consider the diverse values and perspectives of staff and players. The Magic’s donation does not represent player support for the recipient.”
DeSantis pushed back on the statement from the players’ association, treating it as a slam by the entire NBA.
“It appears the NBA took a break from protesting our anthem and bending the knee to Communist China to chirp about my policies,” reads a tweet from DeSantis.
The NBA has come under fire for years for business partnerships and outreach in China. For example, the league in February entered a strategic relationship with Chinese fintech company Ant Group, reported at the time by CNBC.
Of note, the Players Association represents only the players, not the owners of the NBA or individual teams.
Magic executives have stressed the donation to the super PAC was made before DeSantis launched his presidential campaign.
“To clarify, this gift was given before Gov. DeSantis entered the presidential race,” said Joel Glass, chief communications officer for the Magic. “It was given as a Florida business in support of a Florida Governor for the continued prosperity of Central Florida.”
The Orlando Magic was founded by the late Amway founder Richard DeVos and is owned by his family, which includes a number of Republican donors and officials. His family includes Betsy DeVos, who served as former President Donald Trump’s Education Secretary, and Richard DeVos Jr., who ran for Michigan Governor as a Republican in 2006.
It’s no secret that basketball is not DeSantis’ favorite sport. In an interview with the Christian Broadcasting Network earlier this year, he was asked about what he liked about baseball and ended up criticizing basketball.
“I kind of viewed basketball as, like, these guys are just freaks of nature. They’re just incredible athletes,” DeSantis said, comparing basketball to the “meritocratic” nature of baseball.
At the same time, DeSantis welcomed the NBA to its entire 2020 season in Orlando at the Disney-owned ESPN Wide World of Sports during the pandemic.
DeSantis has been heavily criticized as well by Miami Heat star Dwyane Wade. The father of a transgender daughter, Wade and wife Gabrielle Union gave an interview to People about why he moved to California, blaming DeSantis’ policies.
5 comments
PeterH
August 4, 2023 at 1:07 pm
An uninformed observer might come to the conclusion that Republican Richard Nixon and his diplomat Republican Henry Kissinger were not directly responsible for selling out our manufacturing economy to the Chinese! Elections have consequences! Vote for American interests!
Republicans are America’s biggest problem!
Vote all Republicans out of office!
TJC
August 4, 2023 at 2:25 pm
‘DeSantis pushed back on the statement from the players’ association, treating it as a slam by the entire NBA.’
Our little man never lets facts get in the way! And now that he’s made an utter ass of himself once again, he’ll have to double down and triple down because he never backs down!
Dont Say FLA
August 4, 2023 at 4:42 pm
Rhonda’s favorite new word seems to be chirp. That’s not surprising considering his campaign is mostly crickets. Would love to see Rhonda say “chirp” to somebody’s face. That would be so much fun!
Igary salters
August 5, 2023 at 9:04 am
NOW MY FRIENDS SEE WHY I NEVER SUPPORTED OR CHEERED FOR THE ORLANDO MAGICS REASON ONE BETSY DEVOS SHE HAVE BEEN DETERMINED TO DESTROY PUBLIC EDUCATION I HOPE THE PEOPLE OF ORLANDO DO TO THE MAGICS WHAT SUPPORTERS OF RON THE RACIST DESANTIS DID TO BUD LITE BEER BOYCOTT THE BASKETBALL GAMES STAND WITH THE PLAYERS DEMAND THAT THE TEAM DEMAND THE SUPER PAC RETURN THE MONEY PROTEST THE THE TEAM STAND FIRM TOGETHER AGAINST THE RACIST ANTI LGBQT+ ANTI WOMEN HEALTH AND RACISTS ANTI BLACK HISTORY GOP SUPPORTERS ENOUGH SAID
Jake
August 6, 2023 at 3:53 pm
A better baseball analogy for desantis is he’s a failure 2.5 times out of ten and claims success. LOL “meritocratic”,…more like full on mediocre. He enjoys baseball because it’s mostly White men participating throughout the entire “game”. No gays in MLB either…right.
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