This past week has been an ugly one for the San Francisco Giants. One of the team’s owners, Charles Johnson, and his wife, Ann, donated $2,700 to Cindy Hyde-Smith, a Missouri Senator who is running against Mike Espy in a Mississippi runoff election Tuesday. The news led to a boycott of the team by the N.A.A.C.P. and other civil rights organizations in addition to being met with the ire of fans.
The Giants responded with a statement regarding Johnson’s donations earlier today, essentially confirming there are no plans to push Johnson out.
OFFICIAL: Statement from #SFGiants President & CEO Laurence M. Baer Regarding Political Donations
LINK: https://t.co/PmrfK9Vvk3 pic.twitter.com/RFs0GMf49L
— SFGiants (@SFGiants) November 26, 2018
With that in mind, one of the most beloved members of the Giants family, ex-third base coach Tim Flannery, announced he was taking action. Flannery has been consistently outspoken on his Twitter against the Trump administration, and today, he announced that he was making a practical step to counter Johnson and his wife’s donations.
Flannery said he will match up to $2,500 in donations to the Love Harder Project, a foundation he started. According to the website’s mission statement, the organization is a, “Non-profit charitable organization dedicated to educating the masses and putting a stop to the atrocities born from bullying and acts of violence.”
https://twitter.com/TimFlannery2/status/1067241709602394112
Flannery said on his Twitter that he’s never met Johnson and does not get paid by the Giants before he announced his plan to match donations to the Love Harder Project.
https://twitter.com/TimFlannery2/status/1067235620504797184
