Boycott the Miami Marlins

A new nationwide movement, promoted by firebrand columnist Shaun King, launched this week with the aim of punishing businesses with leaders who gave money to white-nationalist-enabling President-Elect Donald Trump.  King's campaign, called the DJT Resistance, has focused on the biggest Trump givers, such as New Balance, Yuengling, and Herbalife.

But Miamians have a chance to use their pocketbooks locally to send a message that they're not cool with hate speech, Islamophobia, and immigrant bashing.

It's time to boycott the Miami Marlins.

Marlins owner Jeffrey Loria is already a borderline public enemy in a city where he bilked taxpayers for a billion-dollar stadium and then let his smarmy son-in-law gloat about it and call voters idiots.

September 29, Loria took some of that personal wealth he's accumulated on the backs of Miami residents and gave it to to Donald Trump's fundraising committee, Trump Victory.

Loria's $125,000 gift came well into a campaign in which Trump called Mexican immigrants "rapists," disparaged the parents of a soldier killed while fighting for the United States, repeatedly belittled women, and demanded an end to all Muslim immigration to the United States.

By giving to his campaign, Loria signals that he supports that behavior and that he backs Trump's call to immediately deport up to 3 million immigrants. It signals that he believes Muslims should have to register with the government and that white-nationalist-approved Breitbart chairman Steve Bannon deserves a key advisory role in the White House.

There are a few obvious pushbacks to the idea of boycotting the Marlins. There's the old saw that sports and politics shouldn't intersect. Sports is where we go to escape the horrors of daily life!

Nah. Take it from ESPN's Jemele Hill, who argued earlier this year that "this idea that sports is untouched by politics is bull... Congress inserted itself in the performance-enhancing drug and concussion issues. We have billion-dollar stadiums being built on taxpayer money."

Others will argue it's a futile gesture. After all, do the Marlins as an organization really stand for Donald Trump's fascist policies?

Here's Shaun King's counterargument: "Many of these companies will say, 'But our company does not actually endorse political candidates.' When your CEO or chairman or primary investor makes a public endorsement or gives millions of dollars to fund Donald Trump, they deserve to be held accountable for that public position."

And the Marlins certainly haven't distanced themselves from their owners' political donations. New Times has repeatedly sent questions to team officials asking whether the franchise supports Trump's policies.

They've refused to respond. The reason is simple: They hope you'll forget that Loria gave $125,000 to Trump and all he represents and that you'll still buy your $25 tickets and $50 worth of beer and hot dogs.

Don't let them get away with that. Boycott the Marlins.