In November 2016, Jacksonville Jaguars owner Shahid Khan told Canada’s The Globe and Mail he wasn’t afraid of Donald Trump’s anti-Muslim rhetoric, chalking it up to “a lot of pre-election hype.” Khan is the NFL’s only principal Muslim owner and a Republican who voted for Trump for his economic policies. Kahn believed that once elected, Trump would moderate his divisive rhetoric. But over Super Bowl weekend, Khan spoke out in opposition to Trump’s recent attempts to ban immigrants from predominantly Muslim countries from entering the U.S.
Khan, an immigrant from Pakistan, told The New York Times that as a Trump supporter, these days are “kind of a sobering time.” The 66-year-old billionaire believes the “bedrock of this country are immigration and really a great separation between church and state… Even for the country [the ban is] not good.” Khan says the executive order could deny entry to the “the tens of thousands of people who can contribute to the making of America.”
In 1967, Kahn came to the United States from Pakistan and earned an engineering degree. He would go on to own a multi-billion dollar car parts business and purchase the Jacksonville Jaguars in 2011. Khan has also been a vocal supporter of a bill in Jacksonville, Florida that would offer more protections to the LGBT community. Although the bill might alienate some of the Jags conservative fans, Khan stands by his decision. “I have no remorse over supporting it,” he said.