The San Francisco Giants owner's Hyde-Smith donation calls for a boycott of the team

SAN FRANCISCO – The San Francisco Giants have been hailed by longtime supporters and African-American leaders who are calling for a boycott of the baseball team following revelations that co-owner Charles B. Johnson and his women would have donated up to $ 5,400 to Senator Cindy Hyde-Smith's campaign (R-Miss.).

Johnson, a billion-dollar investment firm and the Giants' biggest player, wrote this check less than two weeks after Hyde-Smith's numerous statements about his willingness to participate in a "public hanging" – a comment for which she apologizes later. rejected as a "bad joke".

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The indignation sparked by Johnson's political donations has once again erupted following revelations that Johnson had already donated $ 1,000 to a super-PAC called "Black Americans for the President's Agenda" which resulted in a largely condemned announcement for the mid-term elections, meant to reflect a conversation between African Americans suggesting that Democrats would support lynching.

"[Johnson] showed that his heart was on the side of oppression, terror, lynching and racist practices … and that we should not cooperate to support the giants with this kind of person who is a major investor " President Amos Brown, president NAACP, of the San Francisco branch who was among the African-American leaders on Monday calling for a boycott of the team.

Brown stated that Hyde-Smith's statements about his willingness to sit down to a "public lynching", besides his enthusiastic support for Confederate history and his past involvement in a Christian segregationist school, are actions that "Bring me back to horror and hell". my native Mississippi. & # 39; & # 39;

Johnson, retired president of Franklin-Templeton Investments, said in a statement that he "had no knowledge" of what his donation to the super "black American" PAC would be used in this manner. But he did not apologize for the donation to the Mississippi senator, even though many articles continue to make headlines about Hyde-Smith's antecedents and statements.

As more and more corporate donors – including the Major League Baseball, Walmart, Pfizer, AT & T, Aetna, and Union Pacific – have tried to differentiate themselves from the GOP candidate by demanding reimbursement for their political donations, Johnson said did not ask for a refund from him. Hyde-Smith.

Hyde-Smith faces a second round on Tuesday against former Secretary of State for Agriculture Mike Espy.

A statement made public on Monday Laurence M. Baer, ​​President and CEO of the San Francisco Giants, pointed to Johnson's increasingly difficult position in the Major League team – the Giants are based in one of the the most liberal bastions of the country.

"In any case, the organization of the Giants will not tolerate the racist and hateful language of anyone", a behavior that Baer described as "odious" in his statement. However, the team's CEO also noted that the giants had more than 30 different owners and "like our fans, they come from different backgrounds and have their own political views".

At a press conference held Monday in San Francisco with attorney John Burris, a prominent civil rights lawyer, said such excuses were not enough for the African-American community. During a week in which the team began selling tickets for opening tickets for the 2019 season, Burris said that "as a fan of the Giants for life, "he will now withdraw all the support and buying power from his local team, and called for broad support. Boycott of the team going.

"I understand that people make political contributions to whoever they want … but to a woman who has a history of declared segregationist in a state with a long history" of violence and lynching demands the response of political leaders and business community, "he said.

Dan Daniels, director of NAACP for the Western Region who heads the organization in California and Hawaii, said his group was also behind the boycott of the team to denounce Hyde-Smith.

For many African Americans, he said, "Here we are again … and we have to face it," he said.

Democratic deputy David Chiu, San Francisco representative, said he had not spoken to the team yet, but predicted the controversy would cause "significant anxiety" for a Giants organization. which has long promoted tolerance and diversity. Chiu said Johnson should withdraw his contribution and if not, the team should explore the options to buy his stake.

Calls for boycotts are becoming increasingly popular on social media, including former Nixon lawyer John Dean, who tweeted, "Whoa! I know many fans of SF Giants who are going to have big problems with a co-owner, Charles Johnson, who donates his maximum money to Cindy Hyde-Smith, US Senate candidate for the US Mississippi, a racist in love with Trump who runs against Mike Epsy. SF is the real blue! "

In a call to arms, columnist Marcos Breton, a Sacramento Bee subscriber, told readers that the SF giants "no longer get my money" for tickets, shows or merchandise.

And Christine Pelosi, a California Democratic Party official and daughter of minority leader Nancy Pelosi – both fans of rabid giants – said on Twitter that "it's heartbreaking to see the team that I like and serve as a volunteer. is bigger than politics or baseball, "she tweeted this week." It's all about humanity. "

Jeremy B. White contributed to this report.