Ron DeSantis blocked state funding for a new Tampa Bay Rays training facility partly because the baseball team spoke out against gun violence in the wake of back-to-back gun-related massacres in Uvalde, Texas, and Buffalo, New York, a source familiar with the internal conversations told CNN. DeSantis on Thursday used his line-item veto powers to eliminate $35 million for a sports training and youth tournament complex in Pasco County, in the Tampa Bay area, which local officials hoped could serve as the new player development facility for the Rays. On Friday, he said he eliminated the funding because "I don't support giving taxpayer dollars to professional sports stadiums." Two days after a gunman killed 19 children and two adults at a Texas elementary school , the Rays announced a $50,000 donation to Everytown for Gun Safety, an organization that advocates policies to prevent gun violence. The Major League Baseball team also tweeted a statement calling for action.

Source: CNN June 03, 2022 21:33 UTC