© Brett Davis | 2015 Aug 4
San Francisco Giants CEO Larry Baer released a statement on behalf of the organization Monday morning, regarding controversial political donations by owner Charles B. Johnson that came to light earlier this week. Johnson is believed to be one of, if not the largest, Giants stakeholder.
Johnson and his wife Ann each donated the maximum $2,700 to the campaign of Cindy Hyde-Smith, a Republican U.S. Senator from Mississippi, as first reported by Henry Schulman of the San Francisco Chronicle. Hyde-Smith recently came under fire for saying of a local rancher, “If he invited me to a public hanging, I’d be on the front row.” Johnson and his wife made the donation nine days after the comment surfaced.
Hyde-Smith was also captured on video saying it would be a good idea to make it harder for some college students to vote, and was photographed wearing a confederate flag hat in 2014.
Here’s Baer’s full response via a San Francisco Giants press release:
San Francisco, CA — In no way does the Giants organization condone any racist and hateful language and behavior by anyone. It is abhorrent and in direct conflict with the core values of the San Francisco Giants.
We take seriously the platform we have to make an impact on our community, and for decades we have used it to advocate for social justice and equality, inclusiveness and tolerance in our communities. We were the first team in professional sports to raise money and awareness for a cure for AIDS (Until There’s A Cure Day), the first team to devote a day to preventing domestic and family violence (Strike Out Violence Day), and the first team to speak out against bullying, in particular of LGBTQ youth (It Gets Better). We were proud to support the renovation of the Willie Mays Boys & Girls Club at Hunter’s Point and each year our Junior Giants program provides free baseball instruction and life skills coaching to more than 25,000 low-income children throughout Northern California. We in the sports world have an ongoing responsibility to step beyond the comfort zone of our ballparks, stadiums and arenas to address injustice and suffering in our communities and the Giants will continue to make that a priority.
The Giants have more than 30 owners. Just like our fans, they come from different backgrounds and have their own political views. Many give to Democratic causes, many to Republican causes and some refrain from politics altogether. Neither I nor anyone else at the Giants can control who any of our owners support politically, just as we cannot and should not control whom any of our employees support politically. While our 30-plus owners span the political spectrum, they share one core belief: that sports has the power to inspire and galvanize a community. In 1992, when the Giants were about to be sold to a group in Tampa, these individuals recognized the importance of the Giants to the community, and they saved the team for the Bay Area. They helped turn the Giants into one of the most socially-minded and successful organizations both on and off the field. That vision has never faltered. We remain steadfast in our mission to serve our fans and the community.
News of the donation comes less than a month after it was reveled that Johnson also donated $1,000 to a Super PAC called Black Americans for the President’s Agenda, that aired a racist radio ad during an Arkansas congressional election. Johnson, who rarely speaks publicly, renounced the group through a team statement.