It Most Be Two Sides: The Political Donations of NBA Owners Are Not So Progressive

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The Political Donations of NBA Owners Are Not So Progressive

NBA teams and owners have publicly pledged their solidarity with Black players in the fight against racism and police brutality. But the political donations of many franchise governors have overwhelmingly favored Donald Trump and the GOP. What does it mean for a league to send one message with statements and another with money?

By John Gonzalez Sep 24, 2020, Additional reporting and research by Zach Kram

On the second day of September, almost exactly two months before the 2020 presidential election, the Orlando Magic held a press conference in soupy Central Florida to make good on a promise. Several members of the franchise were present, including president of basketball operations Jeff Weltman, CEO Alex Martins, head coach Steve Clifford, and center Mo Bamba. They were joined by Orlando Mayor Buddy Dyer, Orange County Mayor Jerry Demings, and Bill Cowles, the Orange County supervisor of elections. Together, in consultation with More Than a Vote—an organization backed by LeBron James and other athletes and artists dedicated to fighting Black voter suppression—the group proudly declared that the Amway Center, home to the Magic, would double as a polling place on November 3.

The announcement was the result of an agreement reached in late August between the NBA and the National Basketball Players Association after players paused the postseason to protest the shooting of Jacob Blake by Kenosha, Wisconsin, Officer Rusten Sheskey. The plan called for the establishment of a social justice coalition including players, coaches, and governors; dedicated advertising spots during each playoff game aimed at “promoting greater civic awareness in national and local elections and raising awareness around voter access and opportunity”; and the conversion of arenas into polling places. The Magic were the latest franchise to deliver on that final component, joining a host of other organizations, among them the Kings, Bucks, Hawks, Pistons, and Clippers.


In a conversation with The Ringer in late August, NBPA executive director Michele Roberts credited the league for working with the players, an effort that began before the season’s restart in the Orlando bubble, including the governors’ pledge of $300 million over 10 years toward economic empowerment in the Black community. Charlotte Hornets owner Michael Jordan and the Jordan Brand promised another $100 million over 10 years to organizations “dedicated to ensuring racial equality, social justice and greater access to education.” The Nets pledged $50 million to create economic mobility in the Black community, and the Celtics promised an additional $25 million over the next decade to “address racial injustice and social inequities” in and around Boston. The league also approved a list of messages to be worn on jerseys and painted “Black Lives Matter” on all courts in the bubble. And to begin the conference finals, players donned new warm-up shirts with a single word and a simple message: “Vote.” Roberts emphasized that, “because of the political environment” in the country, voting is an especially important and pressing issue for her membership.

“With all the discussion about voter suppression,” Roberts said, “the November date has been something the players have been mindful of and this was a way to make sure there was some concerted action to make November an actual potential turning point.”

Despite the donations, the messages of solidarity, and the formation of committees, some skepticism about the governors’ motives remained. In a conference call with the media after the joint NBA-NBPA agreement, Jaylen Brown said he was “not as confident as I would like to be” in the owners’ collective commitment because “promises are made year after year.” Before the restart, The Athletic’s Shams Charania reported that sources said Kyrie Irving didn’t support finishing out the season because “I’m not with the systematic racism and the bullshyt. Something smells a little fishy.” And in the bubble, Bucks guard George Hill, who was a leading voice in Milwaukee’s decision to sit out its playoff game against the Magic, thus spurring the multiday postseason strike, voiced regret about the decision to play basketball at all. Meanwhile, former players like Greg Anthony and Caron Butler criticized the idea that owners have done enough simply by pledging $300 million. Andre Iguodala, the first vice president of the NBPA, went further.


“Is it a marketing ploy, or are we just doing it to build relations?” Iguodala asked in remarks to USA Today. “In the grand scheme of things, that’s $10 million per team, and that’s essentially a tax.”

It’s not hard to understand why so many current and former players are waiting, as Roberts put it, to see NBA governors “walk the walk” rather than just “talk the talk.” ESPN’s Adrian Wojnarowski reported that “not every owner in the NBA was enthusiastic about having ‘Black Lives Matter’ on the court” and wondered whether there might “be some splintering off among ownership if this season unravels.” So what happens to the partnership between the players and the governors if one side’s agenda is suddenly in conflict with the other’s?

That very thing is happening right now. Roberts said the players are focused on a particular piece of federal legislation that passed the House but is currently stuck in the Senate: HR 7120, the George Floyd Justice in Policing Act of 2020. Among other things, the bill would lower the criminal intent standard required to convict law enforcement of misconduct in federal prosecutions, as well as limit qualified immunity, which helps shield police officers and government officials from civil suits.

Pleas for police reform and justice continued on Wednesday, when it was announced that a Kentucky grand jury would not directly charge any officers for their role in the killing of Breonna Taylor. Instead, former Louisville police detective Brett Hankison was indicted on three counts of wanton endangerment for shooting into neighboring apartments in the March 13 police raid that killed Taylor in her home. Following that announcement, Roberts issued a statement calling Taylor’s slaying “the result of a string of callous and careless decisions made with a lack of regard for humanity, ultimately resulting in the death of an innocent and beautiful woman with her entire life ahead of her.” Several players also spoke out on Twitter, including Clippers forward Montrezl Harrell and Jazz guard Donovan Mitchell. And Nets guard and NBA veteran Jamal Crawford posted that “the cops that murdered Breonna Taylor knew this is how it would play out” and “they were never worried about justice being served.”

HR 7120 was sponsored by Representative Karen Bass (D-CA), and it passed the House in late June by a margin of 236-181. Of those nays, all but one came from Republicans. Only three Republicans voted yea. The bill now resides with the Senate, where Majority Leader Mitch McConnell, a Republican, has yet to call a vote.

It’s hardly news that billionaires who own sports teams donate heavily to politicians and their political action committees, and it’s no surprise that the overwhelming amount of that money is earmarked for conservatives and their causes. As Roberts said, “I don’t think any of our players think we’ve got a bunch of progressives running these teams.” Her membership knows the deal. But a recent BuzzFeed review of President Donald Trump’s judicial nominees found that “they expressed full-throated support for law enforcement and made clear they believe courts should do more to shield officers from lawsuits.” And now, in the wake of Ruth Bader Ginsburg’s death just 46 days before the election, the president and McConnell are vowing to add another conservative justice to the Supreme Court.

Some of the owners who purport to be allies in the fight against systemic racism and police brutality have also contributed massive amounts of money to Trump and the GOP, a president and a party that stand in direct opposition to a specific position the players want to see advanced—law enforcement accountability and reform through HR 7120. That contrast becomes even more glaring when you consider that franchises across the NBA issued statements in support of the players’ strike after Blake’s shooting—including the Magic. The franchise, owned by Dan DeVos, said the team and the DeVos family “stand united” with the league and the players in “condemning bigotry, racial injustice and the unwarranted use of violence by police against people of color.”

Sources who know the DeVos family pointed to those statements of solidarity with the Magic’s players, as well as the Magic’s rush to convert the Amway Center into a polling place, as proof that their well-publicized political affiliations aren’t necessarily representative of their personal beliefs. (DeVos’s sister-in-law, Betsy DeVos, is the U.S. secretary of education. Betsy’s brother, Erik Prince, founded the controversial private military force formerly known as Blackwater, now called Academi.) That position becomes harder to defend, however, when considering their one-sided political donations.

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According to Federal Election Committee records, in mid-June the Magic owner donated $50,000 to the Congressional Leadership Fund, a super PAC that funnels money to the very same Republican representatives who accounted for all but one of the nay votes against HR 7120.

In early June, DeVos and his wife, Pamella, gave $150,000 to the Senate Leadership Fund, another GOP super PAC, and in late June they contributed an additional $71,000 to the National Republican Senatorial Committee. That is a lot of funding directed to the Republican senators who have so far shown little interest in calling a vote on HR 7120.

There’s one other notable DeVos political contribution from this period. George Floyd, whose name is attached to HR 7120 in his honor, was killed May 25. Two weeks later, DeVos donated $200,000 to America First Action, one of Donald Trump’s super PACs.


Dig deeper, below the surface support the governors have publicly offered the players, and it’s fair to wonder how invested the owners actually are in the fight for racial equality and police reform. I began reporting this story more than a year ago. During that time I’ve had conversations with league executives, agents, coaches, players, and staffers. Many of them had opinions about the seeming gap between the owners’ PR posturing and their political donations. Few went on the record. In the weeks leading up to publication, I contacted more than two dozen owners and players asking for comment regarding our findings. Only Mavericks owner Mark Cuban agreed.

Because of the country’s charged political climate, the subject matter is ready-made for partisan pushback. Recently, a Utah Jazz beat writer for The Salt Lake Tribune named Andy Larsen reported about the political donations of head coach Quin Snyder, who made two $500 contributions to a Black Republican congressional candidate who had spoken out against the NBA and BLM protests. Larsen’s Twitter mentions were immediately flooded with accusations of left-wing media bias. He responded by defending the piece on the merits, explaining that he didn’t write the headline and the story had been assigned to him, and underscoring that he wasn’t drawing any conclusions.

In the interest of transparency, I will save people the trouble of pointing out the obvious by doing it myself. I registered as a Democrat this year after being an independent since I was 18. I have made a number of small-dollar contributions to Democratic candidates and causes this cycle, including $100 to a fund that distributes money to Democrats running for Senate, many of them in battleground states. I voted for Elizabeth Warren in the California primary. I will vote for Joe Biden in the general.

None of that changes the facts or the data we compiled here. Nor should it distract from a pressing question facing the NBA: How does the league’s public messaging look when placed in full context alongside the political contributions of its owners? After all, the majority of NBA players are Black, but the majority of governors are white.

Only five owners—Jordan, the Kings’ Vivek Ranadivé, the Bucks’ Marc Lasry, the Lakers’ Jeanie Buss, and the Nets’ Joseph Tsai—are not white men.

(Tsai was born in Taiwan and is a naturalized Canadian. Accordingly, he is prohibited from making financial contributions to American politics under federal law, as is fellow Canadian and Raptors owner Larry Tanenbaum.)

So what do those political donations say about a league that plainly wants to be seen, and hailed, as a positive force in the fight against racism?
 

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TheRinger_NBAPoliticalDonations_Chart_Since2015Bar__2_.png
Source: FEC
An extensive review of FEC records by The Ringer reveals that NBA owners have made more than $28 million in political donations to various causes and candidates since January 1, 2015. You will notice that is not an exact figure.

Because many NBA teams have large ownership groups, we reviewed the contributions of governors with principal or notable stakes in their franchises. We also checked the donations of their spouses since political contributions aren’t always made in a governor’s name. Because of that, and because the FEC website allows for multiple variations on a person’s name and allows filtering only by state of residence and employer, the numbers listed in this piece reflect a minimum donation amount. Put another way, it is possible there is more money we missed.

We found political contributions by 27 different owners (as well as 20 significant others) over a period of more than five years. Of that $28 million total, more than $14.9 million (53.4 percent) went to Republican politicians and PACs,

while over $12 million (43.1 percent) was directed to Democrats.

That leaves roughly $1 million to nonpartisan issues, such as the University Public Issues Committee, the National Cable and Telecommunications Association, or PACs that give to candidates from both parties.

At first glance, that appears to be a fairly even split. Those numbers, however, are misleading due in large part to a massive, single contribution recently made by one governor.
 

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NBA Owner Political Contributions Since 2015:

Owner: Steve Ballmer (Clippers)
Total: $7,946,914
Republican
Donations: $10,000
Democratic
Donations: $7,936,914
Nonpartisan
Donation: $0

Owner:
Dan DeVos (Magic)
Total : $4,854,344
Republican
Donations: $4,854,344
Democratic
Donations: $0
Nonpartisan
Donations:$0


Owner: Dan Gilbert (Cavaliers):
Total: $2,641,073
Republican
Donations: $2,250,400
Democratic
Donations: $345,673
Nonpartisan
Donations :$45,000

Owner:James Dolan (Knicks)
Total: $2,128,979
Republican Donations:$1,945,179
Democratic Donations:$175,800
Nonpartisan Donations:$8,000

Owner: Jerry Reinsdorf (Bulls)
Total:$1,912,100
Republican Donations:$469,600
Democratic Donations:$615,500
Nonpartisan Donations:$827,000

Owner:Holts (Spurs)
Total:$1,425,350
Republican Donations:$1,424,350
Democratic Donations:$1,000
Nonpartisan Donations:$0

Owner: Tilman Fertitta (Rockets)
Total: $1,381,950
Republican Donations:$1,333,450
Democratic Donations:$48,500
Nonpartisan Donations:$0

Owner: Micky Arison (Heat)
Total:$1,232,800
Republican Donations:$929,800
Democratic Donations:$268,000
Nonpartisan Donations:$35,000

Owner: Josh Harris (76ers)
Total: $839,100
Republican Donations:$648,950
Democratic Donations:$190,150
Nonpartisan Donations:$0

Owner: Herb Simon (Pacers)
Total: $826,538
Republican Donations:$186,500
Democratic Donations:$606,038
Nonpartisan Donations:$34,000

Owner: Marc Lasry (Bucks)
Total:$544,150
Republican Donations:$0
Democratic Donations:$544,150
Nonpartisan Donations:$0

Owner:Ted Leonsis (Wizards)
Total:$426,620
Republican Donations:$0
Democratic Donations:$426,620
Nonpartisan Donations:$0

Owner: David Blitzer (76ers)
Total: $265,570
Republican Donations:$115,000
Democratic Donations:$142,770
Nonpartisan Donations:$7,800

Owner: Gayle Benson (Pelicans)
Total:$260,800
Republican Donations:$260,800
Democratic Donations:$0
Nonpartisan Donations:$0

Owner: Wesley Edens (Bucks)
Total:$242,400
Republican Donations:$0
Democratic Donations:$242,400
Nonpartisan Donations:$0

Owner: Kroenkes (Nuggets)
Total: $226,629
Republican Donations:$33,400
Democratic Donations:$188,229
Nonpartisan Donations:$5,000

Owner: Robert Sarver (Suns)
Total:$220,400
Republican Donations:$179,400
Democratic Donations:$11,000
Nonpartisan Donations:$30,000

Owner: Glen Taylor (Timberwolves) Total:$151,600
Republican Donations:$151,600
Democratic Donations:$0
Nonpartisan Donations:$0

Owner: Gail Miller (Jazz)
Total:$132,000
Republican Donations:$103,000
Democratic Donations:$24,500
Nonpartisan Donations:$4,500

Owner: Tom Gores (Pistons)
Total:$109,763
Republican Donations:$5,400
Democratic Donations:$104,363
Nonpartisan Donations:$0

Owner: Vivek Ranadive (Kings)
Total:$108,442
Republican Donations:$0
Democratic Donations:$108,442
Nonpartisan Donations:$0

Owner: Tony Ressler (Hawks)
Total: $76,333
Republican Donations:$8,700
Democratic Donations:$67,633
Nonpartisan Donations:$0

Owner: Clay Bennett (Thunder)
Total: $54,800
Republican
donations :$54,800
Democratic
donations: $0
Nonpartisan
: $0

Owner: Peter Guber (Warriors)
Total: $40,490
Republican Donations:$3,700
Democratic Donations:$31,390
Nonpartisan Donations:$5,400

Owner: Jim Buss (Lakers)
Total:$8,797
Republican Donations:$8,797
Democratic Donations:$0
Nonpartisan Donations:$0

Owner: Jeanie Buss (Lakers)
Total:$5,948
Republican Donations:$0
Democratic
Donations:$5,948
Nonpartisan Donations:$0

Owner : Wyc Grousbeck (Celtics)
Total:$500
Republican Donations:$0
Democratic Donations:$500
Nonpartisan Donations:$0
 

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After the postseason pause, Clippers owner Steve Ballmer announced that the Forum will be a voting center beginning in late October. Along with his wife, Connie, the Ballmers have made 54 contributions totaling more than $7.9 million since 2015. That puts the Ballmers at the top of the NBA donor list—but only because Connie contributed $7 million in April to Everytown for Gun Safety, a nonprofit that advocates for gun control and serves as an NRA watch group. That is one of the largest donations of any amount by any individual during the 2020 election cycle—and by far the largest single contribution by an NBA governor in the five-plus years of data we collected. Ballmer called for bipartisan national police reform after the slaying of George Floyd and endorsed HR 7120—something Clippers head coach Doc Rivers, whose father was a police officer, also supports. (It should be noted that in 2015 Ballmer was honored at the Los Angeles Police Foundation’s True Blue Gala, where there were “demonstrations with the latest state-of-the-art police technology, vehicles, weapons and crime-prevention equipment.” Ballmer also helped fund a private study conducted by UCLA researchers about the efficacy of community policing and whether it helps residents in public housing developments feel safer. Critics say it does the opposite.)

A recent study conducted by Americans for Tax Fairness and the Institute for Policy Studies found that, broadly speaking, billionaires tend to give somewhat equally to both political parties. Not so in the NBA—especially when you consider what the numbers look like absent the Ballmers’ onetime mega-donation to an advocacy group. During the 2020 election cycle—which began in 2019—The Ringer found that, not including the Ballmers’ $7 million gun-control contribution, 80.9 percent of political donations by NBA owners have gone to Republicans and Republican causes, 18.4 percent to Democrats, and 0.7 percent to nonpartisan issues.

TheRinger_NBAPoliticalDonations_Chart_2020__1_.png
Source: FEC
 
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