Buffalo Bills safety Jordan Poyer was joined by a political strategist and former U.S. House chief of staff among his fellow NFL stars as his golf charity event finally went ahead Monday, DailyMail.com can reveal.
The event had previously been thrown into chaos when Poyer took to Instagram to reveal that he had been forced to cancel the event.
He told his followers that golfers and sponsors had withdrawn ‘last-minute’ due to ‘external pressures’ over the location of the event – Trump National in Doral, Florida.
However, in a swift turn of events, just five days later the Bills star announced that the fundraising tournament was back on after a new sponsor, PublicSq, stepped in to fund the event.
With the controversy behind him, Poyer hosted the event at former President Donald Trump’s golf course in Miami.
A source told DailyMail.com that Poyer unsurprisingly received the support of a handful of his Buffalo teammates, including Matt Milano, Isaiah coulter, Gabe Davis, Tyler Matakevich, Dezmon Patmon, Micah Hyde, Patrick DiMarco and punter Sam Martin.
Pittsburgh Steelers quarterback Mitch Trubisky headlined the other NFL stars in attendance, which also included Houston Texans linebacker Christian Kirksey and Chicago Bears safety Adrian Colbert.
However, it was also revealed to DailyMail.com that the guest list ranged outside of the sporting world with Garrett Ventry hitting the fairways.
Ventry is a former House chief of staff and Senate spokesperson who has advised members of Congress and Supreme Court nominees on communications strategy and public policy.
Alex Bruesewitz, a staunch Trump supporter, rounded off the guest list. He is a top conservative political strategist and CEO of X Strategies.
Bruesewitz’s social media platforms are plastered with photos of himself with the former President and endorse Trump’s run to return to the White House, with #Trump2024 in his Twitter bio.
Following the event, Bruesewitz shared a tweet hailing Poyer for continuing with the event, despite the controversy surrounding it.
‘Great seeing my guy Jordan Poyer at his golf tournament at Trump Doral,’ he tweeted. ‘The left tried to cancel the sponsorships for the event because it was at a Trump property, but pro-America marketplace @officialpsq stepped up to make sure the tournament could go on.
‘We need more NFL players & celebrities like Jordan who refuse to bow to the mob. And we need more companies like PublicSq that support the 1A & America.’
While announcing the now-reversed cancellation, All-Pro Poyer said Erie County Medical Center — a Buffalo hospital, who he described as a ‘big sponsor’ had pulled out. ECMC told the Buffalo News they were a ‘beneficiary.’
‘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,’ Poyer said in the lengthy Instagram video.
‘I’m really thankful and blessed to have worked with the people that I have worked with at ECMC in the past two years,’ he said.
The ECMC Foundation remained the beneficiary of the event, but the event was sponsored by PublicSq a self-described marketplace that looks to connect ‘pro-America’ shoppers and businesses.
‘PublicSq is proud to partner with Jordan Poyer. We’re glad to see he’s standing against the cancel-culture mob that tried to shut down this charity event and we will always support freedom-loving Americans like Jordan whenever there is an opportunity to do so.’ Michael Seifert, founder and CEO of PublicSQ, told The New York Post in a statement.
In his previous Instagram video, Poyer added: ‘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.’
ECMC’s foundation executive director told The News: ‘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.’
Poyer admitted while he ‘a little’ upset at the situation, he was more saddened at the state of the US.
‘I’m upset about this is where we are in America… It seems like our egos get in the way of being a good human being,’ he continued in the Instagram video. [Not] sharing love, sharing conversations, sharing laughter with people who may not believe in the same things that you do, it’s a huge problem in America right now.’
‘I can put my ego away any day of the week to go to help somebody who might be white, Black, Asian, Puerto Rican, Dominican, believe in this, believe in that.. I honestly could because it’s about more than me. It’s helping others. It’s sharing those experiences and about being open about we’re not perfect.
‘Nobody is perfect… The thing is we need each other. We are we arguing over (stuff) that does not matter?’
Poyer set up his eponymous foundation on May 17, 2022 with the ‘mindset of supporting those who struggle with mental health and substance abuse of any kind.’ Its mission is to ensure there is ‘support and education to individuals and families affected by substance abuse.’
