![\"Ye,](\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/06\/shutterstock_2274977195-scaled-1.webp\")
\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\tYe, also known as Kanye West, in the White House Oval Office on Oct 11, 2018.<\/p>\n
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\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\tYe, also known as Kanye West, in the White House Oval Office on Oct 11, 2018.<\/p>\n
Creative Loafing | By Colin Wolf<\/p>\n
Tampa Bay Jewish leaders are now condemning the Tampa Sports Authority\u2019s (TSA) decision to book two\u00a0Raymond James Stadium<\/a>\u00a0concerts headlined by Ye, the rapper formerly known as Kanye West and a guy who\u00a0identified as a Nazi\u00a0<\/a>up until just a few months before his latest tour.\u00a0<\/p>\n The Tampa Jewish Federation, which oversees and operates South Tampa\u2019s Shanna and Bryan Glazer Jewish Community Center, released a statement Monday morning saying it was \u201cdeeply disappointed and disturbed\u201d with the Tampa Sports Authority\u2019s choice to enter into a contract with the \u201cHeil Hitler\u201d artist.\u00a0<\/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 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 After losing millions in major contracts with companies like\u00a0Adidas and Gap<\/a>, the artist who once posted\u00a0\u201cIM NEVER APOLOGIZING FOR MY JEWISH COMMENTS,<\/a>\u201d posted a lengthy\u00a0apology in the Wall Street Journal<\/a>\u00a0last January, just months before the release of his new album \u201cBully.\u201d<\/p>\n But the Tampa Jewish Federation called the apology a \u201cPR move.\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cMany Jews and non-Jews believe those comments were nothing more than a PR move rather than genuine remorsefulness, especially since his Jew hate assertions lasted more than two years rather than four months. There are several examples on record of antisemitic statements 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.\u201d<\/p>\n The organization went on to emphasize that the TSA has an obligation to the First Amendment, and has an obligation to generate revenue at county-owned facilities. But, given Ye\u2019s long-documented history of anti semitic remarks, the Bully tour should have never been booked in the first place.\u00a0<\/p>\n \u201cWhy should Tampa hold itself to a lower standard than the United Kingdom, France, Poland, Italy, Switzerland and South Korea \u2014 all of which have cancelled or banned Ye\u2019s performances because of his hateful rhetoric?,\u201d asked the organization.\u00a0<\/p>\n In its statement the Tampa Jewish Federation urged elected officials and community leaders to speak out against Ye\u2019s \u201cexceptionally hateful comments.\u201d <\/p>\n They called for a \u201cserious review of how and why the decision to enter into a contract with Ye was made and what can be done to avoid this type of travesty with other \u2018artists\u2019 with very problematic and\/or criminal pasts from happening again.\u201d<\/p>\n The condemnation from the Tampa Jewish Federation is significant considering its close relation to the Tampa Bay Buccaneers. Besides owning the namesake of the South Tampa JCC, the Glazer family also owns the Bucs, who play home games at Raymond James Stadium due to a long term lease with Hillsborough County and the taxpayer-funded Tampa Sports Authority.<\/p>\n