Houston Texans owner Bob McNair shelled out $10,000 last week to Campaign Houston, a group working to repeal discrimination protections for gay and transgender people in Houston, just to ask for his money back Friday, claiming his views were misrepresented.
Campaign for Houston opposes the Houston Equal Rights Ordinance, or HERO.
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“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,” McNair said in a statement. “Their actions and statements were never discussed with nor approved by me. Therefore I instructed the Campaign to return my contribution.”
McNair went on to say he doesn’t “believe in or tolerate personal or professional discrimination of any kind,” however, Jared Woodfill, spokesman for the Campaign for Houston, thinks public perception and backlash forced McNair to reconsider his donation.
“Anytime you're high-profile and you take a stance on this issue you get attacked," Woodfill told the Houston Chronicle. "But we appreciate the original donation and we believe, from his statement, that his opinion on the ordinance has not changed."