Griffins hockey team President who made racist and homophobic statement works for the DeVos/Van Andel families

Recently, Tim Gortsema, the President of the Griffins hockey team here in Grand Rapids, posted comments that were both homophobic and racist. I want to deconstruct his statement and then talk about how this kind of hateful rhetoric is ultimately the fault of the ownership of the team, which just happens to be

Gortsema stated:

What I won’t be watching will be this year’s Super Bowl Halftime Show featuring Puerto Rican artist Bad Bunny. Specifically, I do not believe he models proper behavior for our youth, and I take issue with his crossdressing and sexually explicit lyrics (even if most of his songs are in Spanish). Overall, I just think the NFL missed the mark with this year’s halftime show. In a nation that is already divided, the selection of Bad Bunny reinforces and widens this current divide. I’m not saying that the halftime performer needs to be MAGA or Pro-Trump. Instead, I would have liked the performer to at least be Pro-America. Despite our Nation’s flaws, I still believe that we are privileged to live in the greatest country on the planet.

Ok, so what kind of behavior does Tim Gortsema want people to model? Seems like he wants white, straight performers who also think that the US is the greatest country on the planet. Bad Bunny is a fabulous model for youth and his choice(s) of clothing provides people who are subjected to a deeply homophobic culture, some additional emotional and social space to be who they want to be in the world.

When Tim Gortsema says the halftime performer doesn’t need to be “MAGA or Pro-Trump” he is most definitely projecting that that is precisely the kind of performer he thinks should be part of the Super Bowl Halftime Show. Lastly, when Gortsema says, “Despite our Nation’s flaws, I still believe that we are privileged to live in the greatest country on the planet, “ he is clearly gaslighting the public with these comments. The US is deeply divided because there are lots of people who want to maintain a white supremacist system and there are those who don’t. Also, Puerto Rico is part of the US, because the US occupied Puerto Rico in 1898 and made it a colony. If this is Gortsema’s notion of the greatest country on the planet, one which practices global imperialism, then Gortsems needs to bone up on his understanding of history.

The DeVos and Van Andel hire people who embrace their values

Ok, so let’s be clear about who Tim Gortsema is and who he works for. According to the Grand Rapids Griffins Team page:

Gortsema is a member of the Griffins’ original 1995 staff and began his career with DP Fox Sports & Entertainment as director of finance and administration before being named vice president in 1997. In February 2007 he was promoted to senior vice president of business operations, becoming just the second person to direct the Griffins’ front office, and he was named president of the franchise in June 2015. 

The Griffin’s hockey team is owned by Dan DeVos and David Van Andel. These two families hired Gortsema and knew the kind of person he is, since they have known him at least since 1995 when he join their staff. Doug DeVos and David Van Andel knew that Tim Gortsema embraces an anti-gay, pro-America, white dominant society, specifically because that is what the DeVos and Van Andel families have embraced for decades.

For people who regularly read this blog know that I regularly write about the Grand Rapids Power Structure, where the DeVos and Van Andel families play a major role. These two families have contributed to the Republican Party and more recently to the campaigns for Donald Trump. These two families control a great deal of the land and assets in downtown Grand Rapids, like Hotels, bars, and parking spaces. The DeVos and Van Andel families are behind the Three Towers project, which is being subsidized with $561 million in public dollars. These two families paid for the naming rights to the soccer stadium and they own the professional soccer team that will play there.

In addition, the DeVos and Van Andel families use their foundations to fund anti-gay and anti-union groups, along with funding projects that promote their pro-Capitalism and Pro-Christian beliefs. None of what Tim Gortsema said should be seen as a surprise, since his beliefs and values are the very same beliefs and values of the DeVos and Van Andel families.

Now, we know that Gortsems made a weak apology since he posted the above comments, but that was only because of the backlash on social media. However, the biggest fear that the DeVos and Van Andel families have is that there wealth would be threatened by people not wanting to spend their money at DeVos and Van Andel establishments, like Grand Rapids Griffins hockey games. I invite you to call or write Tim Gortsema and tell him that we will not tolerate such hateful comments and boycott businesses owned by the DeVos and Van Andel families.

Email: tgortsema@griffinshockey.com Phone: (616) 774-4585 ext. 3014

For more details on the DeVos family see my DeVos Family Reader.