Alan Clendenin is the chairman of the Tampa City Council, where he holds the citywide District 1 seat, and serves on the board of the Tampa Sports Authority. Before joining the council he worked for 32 years as an air traffic control specialist with the Federal Aviation Administration. He attended Valencia Community College and the University of Colorado Boulder. His civic roles have included the Tampa Civil Service Board and Tampa Bay Regional Planning Council.
Role at the time: Tampa City Council chairperson and member of the Tampa Sports Authority board
Explicitly stayed out
Statement summary
Alan Clendenin, chairperson of the Tampa City Council and a member of the Tampa Sports Authority board, told the Tampa Bay Times that Macklemore's removal from the Loop Tour had nothing to do with the authority. He said the authority does not get involved in free speech issues and called the matter one between other stadiums, the artists and their promoters.
“The Tampa Sports Authority’s position hasn’t changed: We don’t get involved in freedom of speech issues
We are a public facility and we’re doing business as the Tampa Sports Authority. This had to do with certain owners that are not in the city of Tampa taking a stance, and they are discussing with the artists involved. This is between other stadiums, the artists, and the artists’ promoters.”
Open source (opens in a new tab)Tampa didn’t seek to kick Macklemore off RayJay show, board member saysArticle body, paragraphs on the Tampa Sports Authority board members' comments to the Tampa Bay Times
Why we used this label
The case looks at Macklemore's Free Palestine speech and his removal from the tour. Clendenin did not take a side on either. He said the Tampa Sports Authority does not get involved in free speech issues and pointed to other stadiums, the artists and their promoters as the parties involved, so we labeled it Explicitly stayed out.
Read Macklemore's 'Free Palestine' speech excerpts and the full transcript source. Compare the promoter's venue statement with his account of leaving Ed Sheeran's U.S. tour.
