{"id":400961,"date":"2026-09-16T00:02:29","date_gmt":"2026-09-16T00:02:29","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/400961\/"},"modified":"2026-09-16T00:02:29","modified_gmt":"2026-09-16T00:02:29","slug":"tampa-didnt-seek-to-kick-macklemore-off-rayjay-show-board-member-says","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/400961\/","title":{"rendered":"Tampa didn\u2019t seek to kick Macklemore off RayJay show, board member says"},"content":{"rendered":"

Ed Sheeran faced an ultimatum, the rapper Macklemore said in an Instagram post<\/a> on Monday.<\/p>\n

Either remove Macklemore as the opening act for his U.S. tour, set to conclude at Tampa’s Raymond James Stadium in November, or see his concerts across the country canceled.<\/p>\n

Onstage at a show in New Jersey earlier this month, Macklemore said “Free Palestine” and performed a protest song against the war in Gaza. A blaze of criticism followed, including objections<\/a> from some of the venues where the pair was slated to perform. In his own social media statement Tuesday, Sheeran said<\/a> his promoter made the decision to remove Macklemore from the tour.<\/p>\n

In the wake of public pressure<\/a> surrounding two June concerts at Raymond James by Ye, the rapper formerly known as Kanye West, did Tampa leaders tip the scale on Macklemore’sparticipation?<\/p>\n

The answer is likely no.<\/p>\n

Several members of the Tampa Sports Authority \u2014 the public agency that manages Raymond James \u2014 on Tuesday told the Tampa Bay Times that they knew little of the decision. One member, Tampa City Council chairperson Alan Clendenin, said the change “doesn’t have anything to do with the Tampa Sports Authority.”<\/p>\n

“The Tampa Sports Authority’s position hasn’t changed: We don’t get involved in freedom of speech issues,” Clendenin said. “We are a public facility and we’re doing business as the Tampa Sports Authority. This had to do with certain owners that are not in the city of Tampa taking a stance, and they are discussing with the artists involved. This is between other stadiums, the artists, and the artists’ promoters.”<\/p>\n

Board members Patrick Manteiga and Joe Robinson directed questions about artists and their contracts to the authority’s staff. Eric Hart, the chief executive officer, did not immediately respond to a call seeking comment. The Times asked the authority for Sheeran’s contract, but the agency said no records are available.<\/p>\n

\"The<\/p>\n

The Tampa Sports Authority manages Raymond James Stadium, where Sheeran will perform in November.<\/p>\n

Robinson referenced Robert Kraft \u2014 whose company owns the New England Patriots and Gillette Stadium in Massachusetts \u2014 who confirmed in a statement that he barred Macklemore from performing at his venue. Gillette Stadium is privately owned, Robinson said, “so Kraft can tell you what he wants.” As a public stadium, he said, Raymond James must “follow the laws on the books.”<\/p>\n

Kraft said hisdecision was based on the rapper’s performances in New Jersey and “a broader history of antisemitic rhetoric and imagery that we believe has been deeply offensive and hurtful to the Jewish community.” The September shows drew formal statements of protest from Israel-alignedadvocacy groups and nonprofits across the country, including the Anti-Defamation League and the Israeli-American Council.<\/p>\n

Other groups, including the Council on American-Islamic Relations, condemned Macklemore’s removal.<\/p>\n

“Publicly owned (stadium) entities cannot engage in such censorship without violating the First Amendment,” saidEdward Ahmed Mitchell, the group’s national deputy director, in a statement. Several other performers scheduled to open for Sheeran \u2014 including Tampa openers Lukas Graham and Aaron Rowe \u2014 pulled out of the tour in solidarity on Tuesday.<\/p>\n

Anthony Palermo, an assistant professor at Stetson University College of Law, said in an interview that the saga raises questions about free speech.<\/p>\n

“There’s a real concern about a chilling effect on speech, especially if it looks like there’s some sort of orchestrated campaign to prevent speech,” Palermo said. “We don’t want it to ever look like a group of powerful interests … banded together and tried to limit what even a minority viewpoint might be.”<\/p>\n

The sports authority has faced free speech questions in years past.<\/p>\n

In 2018, then-state Rep. Randy Fine and former state Sen. Jeff Brandes urged the authority to cancel a concert by the singer Lorde, who had previously called off a planned show in Israel. Fine and Brandes said Lorde had triggered a Florida law meant to oppose a movement toboycott, divest from and sanction Israel. Lorde performed as scheduled at what is now Benchmark International Arena.<\/p>\n

Of the Macklemore debate, Brandes said in an interview, “I think communities have a right to determine the types of language they’re promoting in their communities.”<\/p>\n

Free speech concerns again swirled three months ago, when Raymond James played host to two concerts by Ye<\/a>. The shows drew tens of thousands of fans despite fierce pushback from residents, Jewish leaders and Florida politicians<\/a> who condemned Ye’s antisemitic remarks and actions.<\/p>\n

A unique clause in Ye’s contract<\/a> said the authority could not cancel or interfere with the events “based upon artist identity, prior or past public statements, public perception, political viewpoints, or the anticipated or actual content of the performance,” so long as Ye’s concerts did not run afoul of any laws or venue rules. The authority condemned antisemitism but said canceling the shows could spark First Amendment challenges.<\/p>\n

“After going through the Kanye thing, I would hate to say that the First Amendment matters there and it doesn’t matter here,” Manteiga said. “I’m happy to side on the First Amendment all day long.”<\/p>\n

The Florida Holocaust Museum<\/a>, which over the summer hosted a press conference opposing Ye’s Tampa concerts, declined to comment on Macklemore’s removal.<\/p>\n

Samuel Ronen, co-founder of the Progressive Jewish Coalition, said in an interview, “Macklemore really did not go any further than saying children should not be bombed, and this was apparently very controversial to a certain few people.”<\/p>\n

“We’re very bothered,” Ronen continued, “by the fact that these certain few people seemingly gave a pass to Kanye West, who … had a song called ‘Heil Hitler’ a year ago and merch with swastikas on it a year ago. I think the hypocrisy is startling.”<\/p>\n