Steven Schwersky, president of the Jewish Federation of Florida's Gulf Coast, and U.S. Sen. Rick Scott pressed the Tampa Sports Authority this week to cancel or formally review two Ye concerts set for June 26 and June 28 at Raymond James Stadium.
The stadium is being searched now because the shows are days away and Scott’s letter, sent June 4, framed the question as whether taxpayer-linked venues should host an artist his office says has repeatedly made antisemitic remarks.
In his June 4 letter to the Tampa Sports Authority Board of Directors, Scott wrote that “Kanye West's consistent antisemitic attacks are an affront to the values of the people of the Hillsborough community,” and added that “No taxpayer dollars should be used to give a vocal antisemite a stage in Florida.” He cited West’s recent barring from performing in the United Kingdom and said West had “openly praised Nazis, called himself one, and slandered Jews across the world.” Scott also noted a 2025 Super Bowl–linked ad that he said directed viewers to buy merchandise featuring swastikas.
Schwersky told the authority the decision to allow West a platform “raises serious moral and ethical concerns for the Jewish community” in Hillsborough and Tampa. He pointed to a pattern: “He apologizes, and then he does something else, and then he apologizes, and he does something else,” and warned that “When you're spreading anti‑Semitic messages, it can potentially lead to dangerous situations for the Jewish community.”
Schwersky gave a concrete example of the worry: “You can still go on his website and buy a t-shirt with symbols looking very close to swastikas,” he said, and he reminded the authority that West has been barred from performing in the United Kingdom, France and other countries. He added, “He has a following,” and that reality, he said, makes the choice to host him consequential.
At the same time, Schwersky explicitly acknowledged the legal and contractual levers involved. “The Sports Authority has every right to give him the platform, but they also have the ability to make a decision that's morally and ethically proper, which would include not allowing him to perform,” he said—an argument that recognizes both West’s right to perform and the authority’s discretion while urging a different outcome.
The dispute is not framed here as a First Amendment standoff. Schwersky said that “It's not a matter of your rights under the First Amendment, it's a matter of making moral and ethical decisions,” and he urged the authority to take a stand similar to those in other countries that have blocked West from stages.
The immediate consequence is a looming deadline for the Tampa Sports Authority: the first scheduled show is June 26, with a second on June 28. Scott’s letter and Schwersky’s public appeal put the authority under political and communal pressure to decide whether to cancel, launch a formal review, or proceed with the bookings as planned.
The most consequential unanswered question is now procedural and practical: will the Tampa Sports Authority act to revoke stadium access, open a formal review, or allow the concerts to go forward? The authority must answer that before fans arrive and before vendors and stadium staff commit to the weekend; whatever it chooses will settle whether a taxpayer-linked venue in Tampa will host an artist whose recent conduct Scott described as “vile and a slap in the face to our state's Jewish community.”
