The Orlando Magic NBA team has donated $50,000 to a Super Pac supporting the presidential bid of Florida’s Republican governor, Ron DeSantis.
According to Federal Election Commission records, the Never Back Down Super Pac received the donation made by the basketball team on 26 June. Further results showed the team making donations to other political causes in past years, with $500 going to Conservative Results in 2016, $2,000 to Maverick Pac USA in 2014 and another $500 to Linda Chapin for Congress in 2000.
In an initial statement to Popular Information, a Magic spokesperson said: “We don’t comment publicly on political contributions.” However, in a later follow-up statement, a spokesperson clarified the donation, saying that the check was “dated/delivered on May 19”, five days before DeSantis declared his presidential bid.
“This gift was given before Governor DeSantis entered the presidential race. [It] was given as a Florida business in support of a Florida governor for the continued prosperity of central Florida,” the spokesperson said.
According to Never Back Down’s website, the Super Pac describes itself as a “grassroots movement to elect Governor Ron DeSantis for president in 2024”.
The donation has drawn criticism online, particularly given the Magic’s claims of supporting “diversity, equity and inclusion all year long” and DeSantis’s culture wars in which he announced plans to block DEI programs in state colleges among other legislation targeting minority and marginalized groups including LGBTQ+ communities.
The Orlando Magic team is under Amway North America, a multi-level marketing firm co-established by Richard DeVos, the late father-in-law of Trump’s education secretary Betsy DeVos.
Over the years, the DeVos family has made multiple donations to conservative organizations. In 2006, the Richard and Helen DeVos Foundation made a $540,000 donation to Focus on the Family, a Colorado-based organization that opposes same-sex marriage and abortions, HuffPost reports. In 2008, Richard DeVos donated $100,000 to Florida4Marriage, a group that campaigned to add a state constitutional ban on same-sex marriages.
“That’s just a sacred issue of respecting marriage,” Richard DeVos said in a 2009 interview in reference to his donation.
Following reports of the donation, the National Basketball Players Association, a union representing NBA players, issued a statement on Wednesday, calling the donation “alarming”.
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“A political contribution from the Orlando Magic is alarming given recent comments and policies of its beneficiary. 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,” the union said.