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Photo Credit: Raymond James Stadium by Jerry Glaser for the United States Department of Homeland Security (Public Domain)<\/p>\n
Jewish leaders in Tampa Bay are pushing back against the Tampa Sports Authority\u2019s decision to book and allow two concerts by Kanye West to go forward.<\/p>\n
The Tampa Jewish Federation has condemned<\/a> the Tampa Sports Authority\u2019s (TSA) decision to book (and double down on) two shows by Ye, the rapper formerly known as Kanye West, at Raymond James Stadium. Ye self-identified as a Nazi for several years before issuing a public apology just a few months before his new album and latest tour.<\/p>\n Last week, Florida Senator Rick Scott released a statement<\/a> calling on the TSA to \u201ccarefully review\u201d its decision to host the rapper for what has quickly become the only confirmed stateside stop on his Bully tour.<\/p>\n \u201cWest\u2019s remarks are vile and a slap in the face to our state\u2019s Jewish community. It is troubling that a stadium supported by taxpayer dollars would openly subsidize an event led by an artist known for pushing this dangerous, hateful rhetoric, especially with Florida having one of the largest Jewish populations in our country,\u201d wrote Scott.<\/p>\n But the Tampa Sports Authority essentially just doubled down on its stance in response.<\/p>\n \u201cWe recognize the concerns and viewpoints being expressed about the upcoming events at Raymond James Stadium,\u201d the TSA\u2019s statement read. \u201cAs a public agency, we follow the principles of free speech in operating our venue, although we do not condone remarks or actions from any artists that are offensive and divisive.\u201d<\/p>\n On Monday, the Tampa Jewish Federation released a statement expressing that it was \u201cdeeply disappointed and disturbed\u201d by the TSA\u2019s decision. Not only did the TSA book the controversial artist, but voiced its intention to move forward with the shows despite urging from Sen. Scott to cancel.<\/p>\n \u201cAs a public agency, the TSA is accountable not only to its board of directors but also to every person living in the region, including the Jewish residents,\u201d said the Tampa Jewish Federation\u2019s statement. \u201cBy booking Ye, the TSA lent institutional credibility to an individual who has caused genuine fear and anxiety to Jews across the country; from Holocaust survivors who hoped and prayed this type of virulent Jew hate would be consigned to the history books, to students of all ages, many who now think twice about wearing symbols of their Judaism such as Jewish stars or yarmulkes because they\u2019re fearful of being harassed or even attacked.\u201d<\/p>\n Ye posted a lengthy, full-page apology in the Wall Street Journal in January\u2014despite once announcing on social media that he would never apologize for his remarks. The timing makes sense, given that the once-prolific rapper and producer was planning a major comeback.<\/p>\n \u201cMany Jews and non-Jews believe [Ye\u2019s apology was] nothing more than a PR move rather than genuine remorsefulness, especially since his Jew hate assertions lasted more than two years<\/a> rather than four months,\u201d the Tampa Jewish Federation\u2019s statement continued. \u201cThere are several examples on record of antisemitic statements<\/a> that he made from October of 2022 to February 2025, when he again posted on X that he self-identified as a Nazi and praised Hitler.<\/a>\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cWhy should Tampa hold itself to a lower standard than the United Kingdom, France, Poland, Italy, Switzerland, and South Korea\u2014all of which have cancelled or banned Ye\u2019s performances because of his hateful rhetoric?\u201d<\/p>\n Meanwhile, the Florida National Organization for Women (FL NOW) also called on the TSA to reconsider its decision to host the concerts at Raymond James Stadium.<\/p>\n \u201cBased on public outcry, concerts and festival appearances have been cancelled, business partnerships have been severed, and several countries have denied him entry. Venues, promoters, and public officials globally have determined that platforming him is incompatible with their values and their responsibility to protect the communities they serve. Tampa Bay should not move in the opposite direction,\u201d said FL NOW.<\/p>\n \u201cTampa Bay has long been a community that values diversity, inclusion, and mutual respect. This moment calls on all of us to reaffirm those values and ensure that our public institutions do not provide platforms for individuals who spread bigotry and harm.\u201d<\/p>\n Ye is scheduled to play in Tampa on June 26 and 28.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"Photo Credit: Raymond James Stadium by Jerry Glaser for the United States Department of Homeland Security (Public Domain)…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":300959,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[10],"tags":[135,137,136],"class_list":["post-300958","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-tampa","tag-tampa","tag-tampa-headlines","tag-tampa-news"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/300958","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=300958"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/300958\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/300959"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=300958"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=300958"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=300958"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}