spoke to the Boston Globe recently about his disagreements with DeSantis’ far-right ideology.“Well first and foremost I’m going to ask people out there to stop Florida-shaming us,” he said. “Everybody ain’t down with what’s going on in Florida.
People think that because you live in Florida, like you just down with the [expletive]. We’re not. I’m not down with it. I’m not happy about it.”Those are strong words from a beloved basketball player, especially considering the timing.
The Heat are in the NBA Finals; and usually, athletes don’t comment about social or political issues when a championship is at stake. (The series between the Heat and Denver Nuggets is tied 1-1.) But Haslem feels strongly enough about DeSantis to make an exception.The attention-seeking politician has waded into every layer of the culture wars over the last two years, beginning with the state’s noxious “Don’t Say Gay” legislation, which bans discussion of sexual orientation and gender ideology in all grade levels.
When Disney criticized the law, DeSantis went to war with his state’s largest tourism attraction, trying to strip the company of its self-governing privileges around Disney World.