Casino Giant Will Match Employee Donations To Rights Groups Like ADL

Graphic by Angelie Zaslavsky
(JTA) — MGM Resorts International denounced “hate speech and hate-based actions” in a letter to employees that offered to match their donations to civil rights groups, including the Anti-Defamation League.
“The events in Charlotttesville and Barcelona can easily cause us to feel overcome by hatred and gutted by violence, leaving open questions about our future – as a nation, a global society and even a human race,” MGM CEO James Murren wrote in a letter to all employees that was made public by the Las Vegas Review Journal.
In addition to the ADL, the human rights groups eligible for matching funds from MGM Resorts International according to the letter are: Southern Poverty Law Center, NAACP, Human Rights Campaign, Council on American Islamic Relations, OCA National-Asian Pacific American Advocates, and League of United Latin American Citizens.
MGM Resorts is the largest casino operator on the Las Vegas Strip and employs about 77,000 people worldwide.
Murren was a life-long Republican before he broke ranks last year and endorsed Democrat Hillary Clinton.
Did you know that only 2% of Forward readers donate to support our nonprofit newsroom? That 2% make it possible for millions to read the Forward without a paywall or subscription — removing any barriers to the full and fair Jewish story.
But while the Forward is free to read, it isn’t free to produce. Big stories — like deep dives into the antisemitism data, political scoops or reporting trips to college campuses — take months of research and fact-checking. All while we keep you informed of what you need to know each day.
— Rachel Fishman Feddersen, Forward Publisher & CEO
