Larry Nance Jr. calls out the Orlando Magic’s recent $50,000 donation to a Super PAC supporting the Ron DeSantis campaign.
New Orleans Pelicans big man Larry Nance Jr. does not suffer fools lightly, nor does he hold back on sharing off-the-court opinions. The 10-year NBA veteran has had a busy summer joining fan-led social media spaces and called out uninformed members of the media for out-of-pocket hot takes regarding his teammates.
Now the owners of the Orlando Magic are under fire from all angles following a $50,000 donation to a Super PAC supporting controversial Republican Ron DeSantis, and Nance Jr. is leading the charge.
Nance Jr. took to social media to ask rhetorically, “So the Orlando Magic 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?”
The Xeet already has over one million views just hours after being published.
DeSantis, the current Florida governor, doubled down on the claim that some Blacks benefited from slavery in late July 2023. The 2024 Presidential hopeful has also been entangled in legal battles with Disney, a company that is a featured sponsor of the Magic with a patch on the jersey
According to records filed to the Federal Election Commission by DeSantis’ super PAC “Never Back Down,” the Magic donated $50,000 to the group just days after DeSantis made remarks on slavery and Florida’s education curriculum.
This is not the first donation by members of the organization. The Magic are owned by a company established by Richard DeVos, the father-in-law of former President Donald Trump’s secretary of education, Betsy DeVos. Dan DeVos is the acting chairman, and he donated over $100,000 to the National Republican Congressional Committee in 2023.
It remains to be seen if the National Basketball Players Association (NBPA) will press the issue further. But if Nance Jr. wants to talk to leadership, NBPA President CJ McCollum is just a few lockers away. Surely, McCollum (and now Nance Jr.) will be asked questions during Media Day 2023-24 about how to approach this situation. Here’s to hoping they are ready because, as we witnessed this week, politics can be an ugly game.