Texans owner Bob McNair rescinds contribution to anti-HERO group

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Houston Texans owner Robert McNair has asked opponents of the city's controversial equal rights ordinance to return a $10,000 donation he made last week to the group, according to a statement.

McNair, a noted GOP donor and billionaire, said in a lengthy written statement Friday that, "to my great dismay, Campaign for Houston made numerous unauthorized statements about my opposition to HERO."

But while it was clear McNair did not appreciate the publicity the campaign gave to his donation, his stance on the ordinance headed to voters next month appeared unchanged.

"I recently made a personal contribution to Campaign for Houston because my thorough review of the HERO ordinance led me to believe that a thoughtful rewrite would provide a better ordinance that would provide strong non-discrimination protections for all Houstonians, which I would support, and would be less divisive of our city," he said in the statement.

Jared Woodfill, spokesman for the Campaign for Houston, said the group handled McNair's donation appropriately. The campaign publicly announced the donation last week, using it to refute the supporters' claim that repealing the law could jeopardize Houston's 2017 Super Bowl gig; McNair's statement the next day, however, made no mention of that issue.

Woodfill attributed McNair's decision to rescind the check to national backlash. He said the campaign would not cash the check from McNair.

"Anytime you're high-profile and you take a stance on this issue you get attacked," Woodfill said. "But we appreciate the original donation and we believe, from his statement, that his opinion on the ordinance has not changed."

Critics of the law, mostly conservatives, object to the nondiscrimination protections extending to gay and transgender residents and claim it would allow men into women's restrooms. The ordinance also bans discrimination based on sex, race, color, ethnicity, national origin, age, religion, disability, pregnancy and genetic information, as well as family, marital or military status.





Click through the gallery to see other Texas residents making political contributions for the 2016 election. less Saying he doesn not believe in "personal or professional discrimination of any kind," Texans owner Bob McNair asked the Campaign for Houston to return his $10,000 contribution.



Click through the gallery to see ... more Saying he doesn not believe in "personal or professional discrimination of any kind," Texans owner Bob McNair asked the Campaign for Houston to return his $10,000 contribution. Photo: Brett Coomer, Staff Photo: Brett Coomer, Staff Image 1 of / 36 Caption Close Texans owner Bob McNair rescinds contribution to anti-HERO group 1 / 36 Back to Gallery

The ordinance is applicable to businesses that serve the public, private employers, housing, city employment and city contracting. Religious institutions are exempt. Violators can be fined up to $5,000.

A campaign manager for Houston Unites, the pro-HERO group, cheered McNair's decision.

"Like Bob McNair, many Houstonians are taking a step back and realizing the opposition's ads on the Equal Rights Ordinance are intended to raise anxiety with outright distortions and quite frankly lies," said Richard Carlbom. "When you take a second look, the Equal Rights Ordinance protects all Houstonians from discrimination and makes Houston a place everyone can be proud to call home."