NFL player cancels charity golf tournament at Trump National after sponsor pulls out over 'political battle'

Buffalo Bills defensive player Jordan Poyer announced his annual charity golf tournament was cancelled after a "big sponsor" pulled out because it was set to be held at a Donald Trump-owned golf course in Florida.

Poyer announced via Instagram video that the Erie County Medical Center Foundation, a Buffalo-area hospital, received letters from golf teams "up north" which dropped out of the event, prompting the medical center to do so as well.

"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," he added.

However, an ECMC spokesperson told Buffalo News that the foundation was a beneficiary of the event and not a sponsor.

ECMC Foundation Executive Director Susan Gonzalez addressed the situation but ultimately said it was Poyer's decision to cancel.

“ECMC Foundation was fortunate to be a beneficiary of Jordan Poyer’s golf tournament in Florida. Although the Foundation was not a sponsor, we have had an excellent partnership with Jordan and we respect his decision to cancel his tournament; we hope he will consider supporting us in his future events," the executive said.

"I’m really thankful and blessed to have worked with the people that I have worked with at ECMC in the past two years," the all-pro player continued. "I’m not naïve. 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. … I say the quiet part out loud a lot and some of you don’t like that. My bad. I still went and put my ego aside and went to go help those who needed help or needed a laugh."

Poyer's representatives at Avalon Sports issued a statement as well and said that they were "sadly surprised by negative comments by some individuals trying to make this a political battle and divide our community,"

The player's wife, Rachel Bush, made a blunt statement on her Twitter account after the news unfolded, ensuring fans the charity would return in 2024 at the same location.

"Let’s be very clear. Jordan did not cancel his event. We will always stand proudly with our beliefs and hold true to them. Publicly. And we can easily spend our own money to fund the tournament. It wasn’t about that. Tournament will be at same spot next year. Trump’s course," Bush said.

"The event was cancelled due to the arrogance of others, and then backing out last minute leaving us in a difficult spot to make everything happen properly," she continued before thanking Trump and "all the amazing sponsors."

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