Florida leaders and Jewish community unite to protest upcoming 'Ye' concerts at Raymond James Stadium

TAMPA, Fla. - Florida U.S. Senators and local Jewish leaders came together Monday morning to discuss how to put a stop to Ye, formerly known as Kanye West, performing at Raymond James Stadium later this month.

St. Pete antisemitism press conference

What we know:

At 10 a.m., Senator Rick Scott, Attorney General Ashley Moody, civil rights attorney Leo Terrell and Jewish community leaders were at the Florida Holocaust Museum in St. Petersburg to condemn antisemitism and really drive home that public dollars are not to support hateful rhetoric. 

This follows Scott’s letter to the Tampa Sports Authority on its decision to platform Ye.

Tampa community policy changes

The backstory:

Hillsborough County Commissioner Harry Cohen called on the Tampa Sports Authority to develop a community standards policy that balances the rights of free speech with the impact of giving this type of platform to someone.

Ye has a history of making antisemitic remarks. He was banned from Instagram and Twitter, or 'X' multiple times starting back in 2022. That same year, his long-standing relationship with the company Adidas ended. Adidas cut ties with him because the company "does not tolerate antisemitism and any other sort of hate speech." He has made positive remarks on Hitler and even has a song about him that was released last year. Ye also sold T-shirts on his website with the swastika on it.

"The Tampa Sports Authority evaluates, approves and hear my last word – prioritizes the events that it books. And when you have a taxpayer-funded body that is prioritizing hate and antisemitism, they have a lot of explaining to do," Moody said.

Regional Jewish Federation statements

What they're saying:

Fast forward to January this year, Ye purchased a full-page open letter advertisement in the Wall Street Journal, writing about 750 words apologizing to the Jewish community for his reckless actions, attributing his behavior to his bipolar diagnosis and health struggles, but also said it did not excuse the harm he caused.

"The community at large is upset with the sports authority for hosting Ye and giving him a platform. As far as our statements to Ye, he's apologized, but he's done that several times, and there's a repeating pattern," Steve Schwersky, president of the Jewish Federation of Florida’s Gulf Coast, said. "And so, you know, Judaism is all about forgiveness, and we'd like to forgive him for his past deeds, but I think he needs to show us a little bit more about his thought process and taking back some of the things he said. So, we'll give him some time, but right now the Jewish community is not convinced."

Tampa Sports Authority responds

The other side:

The Tampa Sports Authority issued the following statement in response to the press conference held on Monday: "We condemn antisemitism from any source. However, we also respect free speech rights guaranteed under the U.S. Constitution, even when we disagree with that speech. In addition, no taxpayer money is being used for staging the Ye concerts. To suggest otherwise, is false."

Concert schedule

What's next:

Ye is scheduled to perform at Raymond James Stadium on June 26 and 28.