Orlando Magic swears $50K it gave to Ron DeSantis wasn’t meant to be, like, political or anything
celebrate an annual Pride Night. But the club’s recent donation in support of maybe the most anti-gay governor in the nation flies in the face of LGBTQ+ inclusivity.A new filing with federal regulators shows the Magic gifted $50,000 to a super PAC that supports the presidential bid of Ron “Don’t Say Gay” DeSantis.
The group, Never Back Down, regularly pushes homophobic tropes and talking points. Despite those facts, the Magic say their donation was apolitical and had nothing to do with DeSantis himself. “This gift was given before Governor DeSantis entered the presidential race,” a team spokesperson said in a statement. “It was given as a Florida business in support of a Florida governor for the continued prosperity of Central Florida.”But that explanation doesn’t fly for a couple of reasons.
First, the donation was made to a political action committee, which makes it inherently political.Second, it’s extremely rare for an NBA club to put its name on a political donation.
And by “extremely rare” we mean it has only happened once before, when the Phoenix Suns donated tens of thousands of dollars to the Republican National Committee in the 1990s, according to the New York Times.The Magic are believed to be the first NBA team to ever financially back a presidential candidate.
