Nick Wass/AP
Filings from the Federal Election Commission have revealed that the NBA’s Orlando Magic donated $50,000 to Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis.
SFGATE political editor Alex Shultz reported his findings on Twitter on Tuesday. The filing shows the Magic — not its ownership — made the donation to Never Back Down, Inc., DeSantis’ political action committee.
Shultz added that it is “possibly the largest political donation attributed to an NBA organization.” The Phoenix Suns notably donated somewhere in the neighborhood of $10,000 to the Republic National Committee in the 1990s and early 2000s.
Insider discovered the Magic also donated “$500 to a Democratic House campaign, $2,000 to Maverick PAC USA in 2014, and $500 to Conservative Results in 2016.”
“Team owners dumping money on presidential candidates (especially conservatives) is not new,” Shultz continued on Twitter. “In this case, it’s very odd that, when given the opportunity, the organization isn’t distancing itself from the DeSantis donation.”
team owners dumping money on presidential candidates (especially conservatives) is not new; in this case, it’s very odd that, when given the opportunity, the organization isn’t distancing itself from the DeSantis donation
— Alex Shultz (@AlexShultz) August 1, 2023
Even more odd is the fact that the team is sponsored by Disney, the company currently feuding with the governor. Despite this, the team still listed itself as one of his donors while its players display Disney’s logo on their jerseys.
The Magic is owned by RDV Sports, Inc., a company founded by the late Richard DeVos. He’s the father of team chairman Dan DeVos and father-in-law of former Secretary of Education Betsy DeVos.
New Orleans Pelicans forward Larry Nance Jr. also pointed out the contradictory nature of the donation.
“So the @OrlandoMagic who have a majority black roster,” Nance said, “a black head coach, and a black GM decided it was a good idea to support a man that claims that slavery had personal benefits for the enslaved?”
So the @OrlandoMagic who have a majority black roster, a black head coach, and a black GM decided it was a good idea to support a man that claims that slavery had personal benefits for the enslaved? https://t.co/LI3FAXbMxb
— Larry Nance (@Larrydn22) August 2, 2023
Nance wasn’t alone in that assessment, either.
Why did the @OrlandoMagic donate $50 THOUSAND to Ron DeSantis so that he could run for President against LGBTQ people, promote Nazi propaganda, and push the bigoted lie that slavery had personal benefits?
We’d all like to know. https://t.co/43Eu8u7HPs
— Carlos Guillermo Smith (@CarlosGSmith) August 2, 2023
1. The @OrlandoMagic publicly supports the LGBTQ community. In March 2023 the team hosted “Pride Night” to “celebrate diversity, equity, inclusion, and unity with the LGBTQ+ community”
And yet, on on June 26, 2023, the Orlando Magic donated $50,000 to the Ron DeSantis’ Super PAC pic.twitter.com/EguzYQKQQ2
— Judd Legum (@JuddLegum) August 2, 2023
The DeVos family declined to comment.
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