The NFL’s Jordan Poyer, strong safety for the Buffalo Bills, has now canceled his charity golf event in the face of backlash over it being held at Trump National Doral in Florida.
The Jordan Poyer Celebrity Tournament had been scheduled for July 10 and aimed to raise money for the ECMC Foundation, “a nationally-focused foundation working to improve higher education for career success among underserved populations through evidence-based innovation,” according to its website.
A sign is seen near the front entrance to the Trump National Doral golf resort owned by U.S. President Donald Trump’s company on October 17, 2019, in Doral, Florida. (Joe Raedle/Getty Images)
In a statement on Saturday, the management firm Avalon Sports, which represents Poyer, said that the event had to be canceled due to backlash.
“We would like to inform the general public and media outlets that the Jordan Poyer Celebrity Tournament scheduled to take place on July 10th has been rescheduled for next year. The tournament is a charitable initiative that Jordan has been working on for the past 6 months. Our main goal was to raise funds for the Buffalo community,” Avalon Sports said, as reported by Fox News.
Avalon noted that the golf course where the event had been scheduled also hosted Tiger Woods when he won “The Doral Open 2 years in a row back in 2005 & 2006.”
“Unfortunately, we were sadly surprised by negative comments by some individuals to make this a political battle and continue to divide our community,” the statement added. “We condemn any type of violence and stand by Jordan as he continues to work to make a positive impact and be a role model for our community.”
Poyer acknowledged the cancelation in an Instagram video posted to his account wherein he lamented how golfers had withdrawn from the event, charging they let ego get in the way of “being a good human being.”
Jordan Poyer, #21 of the Buffalo Bills, warms up before the AFC Divisional Playoff game against the Cincinnati Bengals at Highmark Stadium on January 22, 2023, in Orchard Park, New York. (Bryan M. Bennett/Getty Images)
“They decided they didn’t want to take part in my tournament in which they took part in last year because of where it’s at, at Trump National Doral in South Florida,” Poyer said. “ECMC decided they can no longer take the pressure from up top, from the people above them, and it probably has nothing to do with ECMC at all. I’m really thankful and blessed to have worked with the people that I have worked with at ECMC in the past two years.”
I’m not naive. I understand where they are on the political spectrum, where New York is on the political spectrum. Do I agree with a lot of it? No, I don’t. I’m sorry, but I don’t,” he added.
Poyer ended with a call for unity.
“I believe in the universal law that the energy you put out is the energy you get back, and we’re not doing that right now,” he said. “All we do is fight with each other all day. Fight with each other about politics, about religion, about race. The issues that come up are the issues we create.
“It blows my mind that we sit here in America today with these issues,” he concluded.
Paul Roland Bois joined Breitbart News in 2021. He also directed the award-winning feature film, EXEMPLUM, which can be viewed on Tubi, Google Play, YouTube Movies, or Vimeo on Demand. Follow him on Twitter @prolandfilms or Instagram @prolandfilms.