Orlando Magic Gave $50,000 to Never Back Down

[jonskilly]

It’s been hard enough being an Orlando Magic fan, but this is really bad imo. Anyone who knows anything about the Magic know who the ownership is and where they stand politically, but what are they trying to accomplish here donating to ANY political campaign under the team name? And to donate it to a campaign that wants to destroy your main sponsor. That’s pathetic. I’ve lived in NJ my whole life and became a Magic fan because of Penny and Shaq. I don’t even want to step foot inside of Florida with DeSantis there. It’s going to be incredibly hard to keep rooting and supporting a franchise that does **** like this. Donate it under your own name, donate it privately, whatever…but to do it in the Magic name is just wild. As if anyone, besides 1, maybe 2, players would actually be supportive of it. **** just mind boggling.

[VFX]

Unless it's not allowed for NBA Franchises to donate to political campaigns (which it might be, wouldnt be surprised), I wouldn't expect anything except the NBA advising the Devos family to not donate in the franchise's name, and/or changing the rules so it's not allowed anymore

It's just so f****** idiotic. I wouldn't care as much if they did it in 2017 when we were a treadmil team and weren't gonna win anything anyways, but doing it when we been irrelevant for 10+ yrs and finally are on the upswing, shows that owning the Magic franchise is nothing more than a joke to them at this point

Would you care if it was to Charlie Crist instead of Desantis?

They shouldn't give to any political campaigns.

The NAACP issued a travel advisory for people of color, not to come to Florida because of DeSantis' policies that give them the right to stop and ID people of color to check if they're illegal immigrants. So it's probably worse in that aspect.

Sent from my SM-G781U using RealGM mobile app

You could have pressed submit after your first sentence and it would have been OK.

The rest of what you wrote is a political talking point.

[ogmagicfan]

Now, when the NBA cracks down on the Devos family, DeSantis can go after the NBA and give himself more exposure.

Sent from my SM-G781U using RealGM mobile app

Unless it's not allowed for NBA Franchises to donate to political campaigns (which it might be, wouldnt be surprised), I wouldn't expect anything except the NBA advising the Devos family to not donate in the franchise's name, and/or changing the rules so it's not allowed anymore

It's just so f****** idiotic. I wouldn't care as much if they did it in 2017 when we were a treadmil team and weren't gonna win anything anyways, but doing it when we been irrelevant for 10+ yrs and finally are on the upswing, shows that owning the Magic franchise is nothing more than a joke to them at this point

Would you care if it was to Charlie Crist instead of Desantis?

If you read my first message, it says "Donating under the team name is ridiculous, idgaf who they're donating to."

Also Crist isn't really the dunk you're trying to make considering he's a Republican and switched to Dem because Dems keep going to the right.

But yes, it's an really bad look donating using the ORLANDO MAGIC franchise to a politician who's eradicting what little amount of black history they teach in schools in Florida, and wants to highlight the "positive effects" of slavery on black people. A great look when trying to retain & attract talent in a league where 80% of NBA players are black. Definitely how you build a dynasty.

[SOUL]

But the Magic have remained a class organization and the Devos family are very far from being the worst owners in the NBA. The occasional attempt at creating a narrative painting them as evil bigots who make the Magic an undesirable organization just isn't rooted in reality.

This could be true - hiring practices, salaries given, state-of-the-art facilities, etc. But none of that matters when players see a donation from the TEAM and think this:

Read on Twitter

It's just bad business and something they didn't have to do at all. Like I said, it would be bad business if the shoe was on the other foot as well involving any other ethnicity with any other issue with a specific candidate.

[ogmagicfan]

Most NBA owners politically have the same beliefs as the Devos' family, because they're all rich SOB's, but the Devos family doing something like this is paramount to sabotage to the Magic franchise & fans.

If this affects players going to the Magic thru trades & free agency & retaining talent, I'll have to reconsider my fandom until the Devos family is out.

[VFX]

Unless it's not allowed for NBA Franchises to donate to political campaigns (which it might be, wouldnt be surprised), I wouldn't expect anything except the NBA advising the Devos family to not donate in the franchise's name, and/or changing the rules so it's not allowed anymore

It's just so f****** idiotic. I wouldn't care as much if they did it in 2017 when we were a treadmil team and weren't gonna win anything anyways, but doing it when we been irrelevant for 10+ yrs and finally are on the upswing, shows that owning the Magic franchise is nothing more than a joke to them at this point

Would you care if it was to Charlie Crist instead of Desantis?

If you read my first message, it says "Donating under the team name is ridiculous, idgaf who they're donating to."

Also Crist isn't really the dunk you're trying to make considering he's a Republican and switched to Dem because Dems keep going to the right.

But yes, it's an really bad look donating using the ORLANDO MAGIC franchise to a politician who's eradicting what little amount of black history they teach in schools in Florida, and wants to highlight the "positive effects" of slavery on black people. A great look when trying to retain & attract talent in a league where 80% of NBA players are black. Definitely how you build a dynasty.

They shouldn’t do it but they did.
What happens now?

The rest of what you wrote is a political statement that I won’t get into, nor should this board.

It wasn’t smart to do it under the Orlando Magic as an organization not entirely sure why they did in the first place. However, this thread would still exist if Devos contributed regardless.

[SOUL]

Would you care if it was to Charlie Crist instead of Desantis?

Well, it does matter who it is in name as well. If it's just a Democrat or Republic in name who believe in some milquetoast unoffensive policies for their respective parties, it probably gets more of a shrug.. if you're donating to someone who makes some pretty controversial statements that even your own party starts to be like "Well, all of us don't feel THAT way" .. then.. yeah.

[orlando_joe]

Don’t care. Not my money and not a direct basketball decision.

Disney pays to be a sponsor and obviously it’s all business on that front. People also hate Disney for many reasons too.

People in Florida like Desantis whether you are a fan of him or not. The results speak for themselves.

When personal affiliations start influencing basketball decisions is when to worry. You have a bigger case with Isaac and this Michigan nonsense more than who gave money to which politician.

I think it is like 50/50 that like DeSantis. You have to remember that the side that he represents wants to suppress the number of voters because if everyone voted, they would lose.

Sent from my SM-G781U using RealGM mobile app

by the vote i think more like 60/40?

[orlando_joe]

Most NBA owners politically have the same beliefs as the Devos' family, because they're all rich SOB's, but the Devos family doing something like this is paramount to sabotage to the Magic franchise & fans.

If this affects players going to the Magic thru trades & free agency & retaining talent, I'll have to reconsider my fandom until the Devos family is out.

my goodness if it does ..dont need them anyway ..if you cant seperate work and politics ..please grow up

[ogmagicfan]

Would you care if it was to Charlie Crist instead of Desantis?

If you read my first message, it says "Donating under the team name is ridiculous, idgaf who they're donating to."

Also Crist isn't really the dunk you're trying to make considering he's a Republican and switched to Dem because Dems keep going to the right.

But yes, it's an really bad look donating using the ORLANDO MAGIC franchise to a politician who's eradicting what little amount of black history they teach in schools in Florida, and wants to highlight the "positive effects" of slavery on black people. A great look when trying to retain & attract talent in a league where 80% of NBA players are black. Definitely how you build a dynasty.

They shouldn’t do it but they did.
What happens now?

The rest of what you wrote is a political statement that I won’t get into, nor should this board.

It wasn’t smart to do it under the Orlando Magic as an organization not entirely sure why they did in the first place. However, this thread would still exist if Devos contributed regardless.

There's a diff btwn donating under their name, and donating under the team franchise.

I wouldn't be surprised if it's something the NBA didn't ban explicitly, because it they never thought an owner would be dumb enough to do something like this when they could just donate under their name or other companies of theirs

I expect it to be subsequently banned, which will bring more bad publicity to the Magic franchise.

I don't know what happens now, we just wait & see, but d*** does it hurt to see ownership pull off dumb s*** like this with myself heavily supporting the Magic my whole life, esp these rough past 10 yrs.

[ogmagicfan]

Most NBA owners politically have the same beliefs as the Devos' family, because they're all rich SOB's, but the Devos family doing something like this is paramount to sabotage to the Magic franchise & fans.

If this affects players going to the Magic thru trades & free agency & retaining talent, I'll have to reconsider my fandom until the Devos family is out.

my goodness if it does ..dont need them anyway ..if you cant seperate work and politics ..please grow up

You're talking about seperating work & politics, when they're explicitly not seperating work & politics with this donation... lol

Also everything is political, there is no seperating of the 2.

[Bergmaniac]

So much pointless drama. This would be completely forgotten in a month at most. It's not like the political views of the DeVos family are secret in any way. And if the hypothetical free agent is one of the handful of players in the league who give a damn about the ethics of the owners he won't pick a team owned by a family which made its fortune from a pyramid MLM scheme.

[pepe1991]

So i tried to invest some time and figure& learn any potential negative impacts of Orlando donating money to political party.

Aaaaand...drumroll.... To zero suprise to me, i learned around 80% of nba players don't vote
Than i used my favorite-hate place ,reddit to explore it deeper, as some person had intell on how many times players from Texas voted , i assume because he lives there and...once again, drumroll.... vast majority of credible players never voted

It's just drama over nothing. Should NBA team donate money ? No. Does donating money for person who fights your other sponsor both dumb and funny ? yes. But here wer are. Nobody will care about this in a week. Enjoj your summer.

[SOUL]

It's mindblowing to me people won't admit how stupid it is though.

Simply don't attach the team to it - that's all anybody is asking, especially since people already know most owners donate to political parties anyway.

[UCF]

I wonder if this relates to them seeking tourist tax dollars at all.

[msmoore66]

Thought De Santis was a magician, Also thought Never Back Down must be a camp for players who have no desire to play in the post.

My lack of enthusiasm for US Politics (in fact all politics) aside, seems very odd to donate under the team's name.

[Fortune Teller]

Would you care if it was to Charlie Crist instead of Desantis?

They shouldn't give to any political campaigns.

The NAACP issued a travel advisory for people of color, not to come to Florida because of DeSantis' policies that give them the right to stop and ID people of color to check if they're illegal immigrants. So it's probably worse in that aspect.

Sent from my SM-G781U using RealGM mobile app

You could have pressed submit after your first sentence and it would have been OK.

The rest of what you wrote is a political talking point.

Actually the rest of what he wrote is just a fact. The NAACP did issue a travel advisory for Florida.

[bigdogdylan5]

It's mindblowing to me people won't admit how stupid it is though.

Simply don't attach the team to it - that's all anybody is asking, especially since people already know most owners donate to political parties anyway.

Don’t they have to because of contribution law? Business can give more than individuals in our f up system.

[bigdogdylan5]

To all the mods I am so sorry this must be your worst nightmare. I think we are giving this too much attention. All owners find ways to use their money for political donations. Does it really matter if it was funneled through the team or not? I think this will be forgotten in a week. I do not think it will affect FA or culture imo.

[ogmagicfan]

It's mindblowing to me people won't admit how stupid it is though.

Simply don't attach the team to it - that's all anybody is asking, especially since people already know most owners donate to political parties anyway.

Don’t they have to because of contribution law? Business can give more than individuals in our f up system.

That's true, but the Devos family has plenty of businesses they could donate money from, or create a phony business solely so they can donate more money to Desantis.