Ron DeSantis Accused of Racism Over Remarks About Basketball Players

Florida Governor Ron DeSantis is being accused of racism for saying that basketball players are "freaks of nature" compared to baseball players, who he alleged have "different skills."

During an interview on the Christian Broadcasting Network (CBN), DeSantis was asked why he loves baseball, which the interviewer called "a thinking man's game," so much.

The Florida governor said that he loved the sport because it offers a place to anyone willing to put in the good work—unlike basketball, he said.

"There's so many places that you need to have on a baseball team and there are different skills that are required—so some people can be a pitcher, some people can be a middle in-fielder, some people can be a catcher," he said.

"And so I think that there's kind of a place for everybody in a baseball team if you're willing to work hard, if you're willing to practice. [...] I kind of thought it was always a very democratic game, a very meritocratic game," he continued.

Presidential candidate and Florida Governor Ron DeSantis speaks to a crowd on June 2, 2023 in Gilbert, South Carolina. The governor had campaign stops scheduled for Beaufort, Columbia and Greenville on Friday. Sean Rayford/Getty Images

"Whereas I kind of viewed basketball as like 'these guys are just freaks of nature.' They're just incredible athletes. In baseball, you know, you have some guys that might not necessarily be the best athletes, but maybe they've got you know that slider that nobody can hit, or they have the skills that allow them to compete at the highest level."

A video of the interview was shared on Twitter by PatriotTakes, an account that monitors right-wing extremism, where it was watched over 2.5 million times.

Ron DeSantis said basketball athletes are “freaks of nature” while contrasting the sport with baseball which he described as a “meritocratic game” with “different skills that are required” to be on the team. pic.twitter.com/APnbsfAOBU — PatriotTakes 🇺🇸 (@patriottakes) June 21, 2023

According to data collated by Infogram in 2022, 57.5 percent of Major League Baseball players are non-Hispanic white. This contrasts with the NBA, where, according to activist Richard Lapchick, in 2021 only 16.8 percent of players were non-Hispanic white.

The reactions to DeSantis' comments online were strong, with some accusing him of having racial biases against basketball players.

"This is racism. For those who want me to soften it up, this is very clearly coded racial bias," tweeted Wayne Black, assistant professor of Sports Administration at the University of Cincinnati. "I'm not shocked given who it's coming from. This is a mindset that a lot of coaches subconsciously reinforce on their teams w/o recognizing it."

Black said that most of the time these racial biases come down to the fact that predominantly Black teams are "deemed as 'athletic' and predominantly white teams are 'technical.'"

"In saying this, DeSantis just killed the Heat and Magic basketball teams, rolling up the welcome mats, they both will leave Florida soon," a Twitter user commented.

On the other hand, DeSantis' supporters said liberals were reading too much into it, and there was nothing inherently negative, or racist, in the governor's comment on basketball and baseball players.

Newsweek has contacted DeSantis' media team for comment by email.