The National Basketball Players Association has issued up a response to a recent political donation made by the Orlando Magic. In a statement released on Wednesday afternoon, the Players Association excoriated the team for giving $50,000 to the Super PAC supporting the presidential campaign of Florida governor Ron DeSantis.
A statement from the NBPA on the Orlando Magic’s recent political donations.
Official statement: https://t.co/6fmRZCxVzG pic.twitter.com/JQEk0V4Ztl
— NBPA (@TheNBPA) August 3, 2023
DeSantis, a Republican who was elected governor in 2018, is currently seeking the party’s nomination for the 2024 presidential election. While his campaign has floundered in recent weeks and polls show him falling farther and farther behind former President Donald Trump, the Magic opted to make a sizable donation back in May. In a statement to Sopan Deb of the New York Times, the Magic confirmed the donation and said it “was given as a Florida business in support of a Florida governor for the continued prosperity of Central Florida.”
Orlando Magic appear to be the first NBA team… ever? to back a presidential candidate: $50k to Ron DeSantis's Super PAC
I asked spox to clarify if donation should instead be attributed to owner Richard DeVos; response was "we don’t comment publicly on political contributions" pic.twitter.com/9B5yuvIUF3
— Alex Shultz (@AlexShultz) August 1, 2023
In a statement to the Times, NBA spokesperson Mike Bass said “Team governors make their own decisions on the political contributions they make and we respect the right of members of the N.B.A. family to express their political views.”
The Magic are owned by RDV Sports, Inc., a corporation that was set up in the 1990s to allow Michigan businessman Richard DeVos to purchase the team. Currently, the organization is run by his son, Dan, whose sister-in-law is Betsy DeVos, the former Secretary of Education under Trump. As Deb pointed out, it is believed that the Magic’s donation was the first time that an NBA team cut a check directly to a presidential campaign.
Source: https://uproxx.com/dimemag/nbpa-magic-donation-50000-ron-desantis-alarming/
