Houston Texans owner Bob McNair announced on Friday that he would be retracting his $10,000 donation to a group called Campaign for Houston after the organization lied about their intentions. Via a statement (which you can read in its entirety below) McNair alleges that he made the donation to the group with the belief that they intended only to revamp the wording of the Houston Equal Rights Ordinance - a cause he says he supports - to make it "less divisive" for the city.
Campaign for Houston however, made "numerous unauthorized statements" through a variety of venues suggesting that McNair was opposed to HERO.
McNair's donation was initially met with anger and incredulity from some. Jeremy Brener, a gay male Texans fan, penned a letter on Outsports questioning McNair's donation and chiding the organization for creating an allegiance with an anti-LGBT group. Others, mainly Christian conservatives, applauded McNair's contribution.
Here is the transcript, in full, of McNair's statement. From Outsports, via Texans spokesman Kevin Cooper...
I recently made a personal contribution to Campaign for Houston because my thorough review of the HERO ordinance led me to believe that a thoughtful rewrite would provide a better ordinance that would provide strong non-discrimination protections for all Houstonians, which I would support, and would be less divisive of our city.
It was on these principles that I made my personal contribution to Campaign for Houston. To my great dismay, Campaign for Houston made numerous unauthorized statements about my opposition to HERO in print, broadcast and social media - including attributing certain statements of belief to me. Their actions and statements were never discussed with nor approved by me. Therefore I instructed the Campaign to return my contribution.
I do not believe in or tolerate personal or professional discrimination of any kind. I also believe that we Houstonians should have an ordinance that unites our community and provides a bold statement of non-discrimination. I encourage all Houstonians to vote on November 3.
Robert F. Kennedy once said, "Few will have the greatness to bend history itself; but each of us can work together to change a small portion of events, and in the total of those acts will be written the history of our generation."
HERO is a city ordinance meant to protect people in "employment, housing and business" from discrimination based on characteristics such as gender, race, color, ethnicity, national origin, age, familial status, marital status, military status, religion, disability, sexual orientation, genetic information, gender identity and pregnancy.
