SF Giants principal owner Charles Johnson, the largest billionaire shareholder with Franklin Templeton Investments, is in big trouble. Johnson elected to max-out his give to racist Cindy Hyde-Smith, sending $5,400 her way. His decision to lend financial support to Cindy Hyde-Smith in her run to represent Mississippi as its U.S. Senator against her black challenger, Mike Epsy has upset many.
It’s also ignited calls for the boycott of the San Francisco Giants.
The “Cindy Hyde-Smith Is So Racist” Joke
Cindy Hyde-Smith and racism have become so connected that The Root has a new joke that goes like this: Cindy Hyde-Smith is so racist, and so the refrain is “How racist is she?”, to which the response is, “Cindy Hyde-Smith is so racist…” We’ll come back to that. Back to the SF Giants boycott talk.
The SF Giants Boycott Press Conference In San Francisco
Today, famed Oakland civil rights lawyer John Burris spearheaded a call to do just that: boycott the SF Giants. In this, Burris joined former San Francisco Supervisor The Hon. Rev. Amos Brown from the San Francisco NAACP and California NAACP boss Dan Daniels, in a 20th-Century-style press conference, today. Reverend Brown said “We should not cooperate with evil. It takes me back to the horror and the hell I endured as a child in my native Mississippi.”
Rev. Amos Brown from SFNAACP along with Attorney John Burris (right) and CANAACP Dan Daniels (left) will boycott #SFGiants citing team co-owner Charles Johnson donations to MS Senate candidate #CindyHydeSmith asking team owner to demand money back from candidate pic.twitter.com/txGCEznhhF
— Christien Kafton (@CKaftonKTVU) November 26, 2018
What happened to start all of this is Cindy Hyde-Smith elected to let fly the idea that she would be “on the front row” if a supporter invited her to a “public hanging.” That caused others to look into her background, and in doing so, found some bothersome information, expressed by The Root’s “Cindy Hyde-Smith is so racist…” joke. And so, we ask “How racist is she? And The Root responds with…
Cindy Hyde-Smith is so racist that she wants to sit up front at a public lynching!
And…
She’s so racist that she posed wearing a Confederate hat while holding an old Confederate gun.
And…
She’s so racist that she and her daughter went to segregationist high schools.
And…
She pushed resolution praising Confederate soldier’s effort to ‘defend his homeland’.
So, its a fair bet more will come beyond this, but you get the idea. With all of this, what did the San Francisco Giants say? Well, Larry Bear, SF Giants President and all-around good-guy Democrat, issued this statement:
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.
That’s all well and good, but Charles Johnson should follow the lead of companies like Google, and give the money back to Cindy Hyde-Smith.
Wait? Google? Why would a tech company give money to a racist?
Stay tuned.