NFL Owner Demands Anti-LGBT Organization Refund His $10,000 Donation

Houston Texans owner Bob McNair has demanded an anti-LGBT organization return his $10,000 donation, citing unauthorized statements and a difference of beliefs.

Bob McNair is a billionaire businessman who owns the Houston Texans NFL football team. McNair has been in the headlines for the past week after donating $10,000 to the Campaign for Houston, a viciously anti-LGBT organization that is working to ensure Houston’s nondiscrimination ordinance does not become law.

The Campaign for Houston, along with several other locals organizations and the Family Research Council have been flooding local media outlets with fear-mongering and false ads designed to scare Houston voters into believing HERO, the Houston Equal Rights Ordinance would allow men to use women’s public restrooms whenever they feel like it, and even suggesting transgender people are pedophiles and dangerous.

Former NFL star punter Chris Kluwe this week penned an open letter to McNair, in his own unique way, asking if the Texas billionaire is a “cowhumping glue-huffer stupid enough to buy in on clearly outdated ideals of bigotry and intolerance?”

But now, ThinkProgress’ Zack Ford reports McNair has had a change of heart, and that he had believed “a thoughtful rewrite” of HERO “would provide a better ordinance that would provide strong non-discrimination protections for all Houstonians, which I would support, and would be less divisive of our city.”

McNair also accuses the anti-LGBT group of playing dirty.

“To my great dismay, Campaign for Houston made numerous unauthorized statements about my opposition to HERO in print, broadcast and social media – including attributing certain statements of belief to me. Their actions and statements were never discussed with nor approved by me. Therefore I instructed the Campaign to return my contribution,” McNair told ThinkProgress.

“I do not believe in or tolerate personal or professional discrimination of any kind. I also believe that we Houstonians should have an ordinance that unites our community and provides a bold statement of non-discrimination. I encourage all Houstonians to vote on November 3.”

Houston Unites, which is working to help pass HERO, told ThinkProgress that like McNair, “many Houstonians are taking a step back and realizing the opposition’s ads on the Equal Rights Ordinance are intended to raise anxiety with outright distortions and quite frankly lies. When you take a second look, the Equal Rights Ordinance protects all Houstonians from discrimination and makes Houston a place everyone can be proud to call home. And why the majority of small and large businesses in Houston support Proposition 1.”

 

EARLIER:

Chris Kluwe Totally Takes Down ‘Cowhumping Glue-Huffer’ NFL Owner For Financing Anti-LGBT Hate

Trailing In Polls, Houston Equal Rights Opponents Continue Desperate Anti-LGBT Ad Campaign

Texas Groups Scare Voters With ‘Bathroom Ads’ Ahead Of HERO Vote

 

Image by Karen via Flickr and a CC license