News emerged on Tuesday that an NBA team decided to endorse presidential candidate Ron DeSantis. That team is none other than Florida’s own Orlando Magic.
The Magic, owned by RDV Sports, Inc. and chaired by Dan DeVos, donated to DeSantis and his Super PAC. Alex Shultz of SF Gate reported that the Magic donated a whopping $50,000 to the Super PAC.
Orlando Magic appear to be the first NBA team… ever? to back a presidential candidate: $50k to Ron DeSantis's Super PAC
I asked spox to clarify if donation should instead be attributed to owner Richard DeVos; response was "we don’t comment publicly on political contributions" pic.twitter.com/9B5yuvIUF3
— Alex Shultz (@AlexShultz) August 1, 2023
The Magic are believed to be the first NBA team to back a presidential candidate. Recently, the Gate publicized another sports team owner who donated to a controversial presidential campaign. Oakland Athletics owner John Fisher, who has been skewered and maligned for a multitude of reasons, added another. Fisher donated to Doug Burnam and his GOP campaign. Burnam has passed a slew of anti-transgender laws in North Dakota, the state where he sits as Governor, among the most restrictive in the nation.
DeSantis has also signed multiple restrictive anti-transgender laws and other hateful restrictions as Governor of Florida.
Magic owner Dan DeVos didn’t comment to Shultz or the San Francisco Gate, according to the reporter. DeVos’ sister-in-law, Betsy DeVos, previously served as the U.S. Secretary of Education under former President Donald Trump.
A recently-published NYT poll sees Ron DeSantis polling at 17 percent for the upcoming 2024 Republican primary election. He is well behind Trump, who faces a handful of federal indictments over business fraud.
