Screenshots via X.
The Orlando city government responded to backlash after audience members at a kickboxing match at a city-owned venue were videoed holding up Nazi flags and doing salutes, saying that it “unequivocally condemn[ed]” what had happened, but it was “bound by the First Amendment.”
The Kia Center is downtown Orlando’s main venue and largest indoor arena, hosting Orlando Magic NBA games, Orlando Solar Bears hockey games, and numerous A-list concerts throughout the year. On Saturday night, the venue hosted kickboxing matches organized by Duel: Arena. One of the matches was between Paul Miller, who goes by “Gypsy Crusader,” and Ben Azoulay, aka “King Azoulay.”
Miller is a far-right influencer with a long history of antisemitic and white supremacist remarks and a past stint in federal prison related to felony charges for illegal possession of a firearm and ammunition. Azoulay, who is Jewish and from Israel, has also built an online following and has his own controversies, including accusations that when he was 18, he participated in raping and assaulting a 15-year-old girl with his brother and a friend at a party at his parents’ home.
But it was Miller’s fostering of a literal Nazi fanbase that sparked viral online outrage after social media users shared photos and videos of audience members holding up Nazi flags, doing “Heil Hitler” salutes, getting in brawls, and yelling at a female security guard who confiscated the flag.
Miller won the fight and afterwards declared into the microphone for the entire arena that Azoulay was “not a tough guy” and “not some alpha male,” but “a short little f*cking Jew prick,” according to a report by WKMG. He was also “captured on video appearing to twice give the Nazi salute to the crowd,” the report added.
Fox 35 Orlando reported that Azoulay had told their reporter “he was deeply disturbed by what happened,” but “Miller declined an interview and said he did not see an issue with the incident.”
Patrick Clark, another boxer who fought in an earlier match at the event, told Fox 35 he “couldn’t believe” he was seeing a Nazi flag held up by a fan and had taken a video of it. “I was just like, Orlando’s lost its mind.”
Clark added that he had never seen anything like that in the six years he had lived in Orlando, and commented on his shock at seeing Miller “put up a Nazi salute,” and then “his corner men were Nazi saluting the crowd,” but the crowd’s reaction was most disturbing.
The videos from the event were denounced by numerous people online and several local elected officials.
Sen. Rick Scott (R-FL) shared one of the videos and called it “utterly disturbing,” adding that “Antisemitism has NO PLACE in Florida.” Orlando Mayor Buddy Dyer (D) posted that “hate will never be welcome here” and pledged that “Our community will continue to stand against antisemitism and all forms of hate to ensure that Orlando is a place where every person is valued and respected.”
State Rep. Anna Eskamani (D), whose district includes downtown, urged the city to review the rules for its venues.
“There needs to be a reevaluation of rules at the Kia Center [and all public venues] if such performances are allowed to be booked and platformed,” wrote Eskamani, who is term-limited and running for mayor in the Orlando elections next year. “The First Amendment is broad, but this invites + incites violence and all angles should be explored to prevent this from ever happening again.”
The Kia Center, like many arenas and venues, imposes a strict bag policy, allowing a maximum size of 4.5″ x 6.5″ x 1″ or less, according to a report by Orlando Weekly, and it is not known how the Nazi flag was brought into Saturday’s event.
Venue rules also prohibit “prop or toy weapons of any kind,” signs with “indecent or derogatory comments/images, political statements or commercial references,” or clothing or costumes “featuring offensive language, inappropriate material or that disrespect another culture.”
A spokesperson for Orlando Venues, the city department that oversees the Kia Center and other city-owned venues, told Orlando Weekly, “We do not condone or approve the messaging during Saturday’s event and the flag was removed once we saw it on display.”
The Kia Center released a statement Tuesday afternoon responding to the criticism of the event which did not specify the display of Nazi flags and salutes but did say the city and venue “unequivocally condemn all forms of hate speech, discrimination, antisemitism, racism and any message that encourages hatred or violence against any person or group,” but were restricted from being able to “deny access” by the First Amendment.
The full text of the statement read:
STATEMENT FROM ORLANDO VENUES
Orlando Venues and the City of Orlando unequivocally condemn all forms of hate speech, discrimination, antisemitism, racism and any message that encourages hatred or violence against any person or group. We understand that many people in the Orlando community feel hurt, angry and concerned about the recent Duel Arena event. To be clear: those views belong solely to the individuals who expressed them. They do not reflect the values of Orlando Venues, the City of Orlando or our staff that work tirelessly to provide a sate and welcoming environment for everyone.
As operators of public venues, the City is bound by the First Amendment. This means we cannot deny access because we disagree with the political ideology, opinion or perspective, regardless of the message. However, that legal reality does not soften our condemnation of what occurred.
We hear the community’s concern and we take it seriously. Orlando Venues remains committed to ensuring our facilities are sate and inclusive. We will continue reviewing our event policies
to uphold that commitment while respecting the Constitution.
The statement does not appear to have calmed the outrage; the vast majority of replies and quotes sharing the posts on various social media platforms are highly critical and dissatisfied with the response.
One final note about the media coverage of this incident: it does not appear that the hometown newspaper, the Orlando Sentinel, has covered this story at all.
Searching the Sentinel website for “nazi” or “kia center” brings up zero recent articles; the Kia Center obviously is mentioned in numerous articles about the Magic and other local sports teams and the paper has covered other past incidents involving Nazi demonstrators.
A Google search for “orlando sentinel nazi kia center” yielded only reports from other local media outlets but not the Sentinel, and searching for any tweets by the @orlandosentinel account mentioning “nazi” or “kia center” was also fruitless.
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