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Niles: Disney-Florida battle says something about leaders on both sides

May 2, 2023

Before he was replaced, former Disney CEO Bob Chapek once expressed to me and a handful of other reporters his frustration that Disney had taken the brunt of fan criticism for not standing up to Florida’s legal attacks on the LGBTQ community. Media giant NBCUniversal also runs theme parks in the Sunshine State, but that company’s leadership was not facing the social media complaints and threats of employee walk-outs that Disney was at the time.

Chapek eventually did take a public stand against the so-called “Don’t Say Gay” bill, kicking off a verbal battle between Disney and Florida Governor Ron DeSantis that now has become a legal fight in U.S. District Court. I get why Chapek was frustrated. It’s tough to live under a double standard.

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One of the more important tests for people in charge of anything is whether they see leadership as a burden or an opportunity. As the biggest theme park company in the world and the largest private employer in the state of Florida, Disney is a leader. That’s going to make the company and its management a target over a wide range of community issues.

Disney’s economic power in Florida provides it an opportunity to stand up to state politicians that few others enjoy — not even the leaders at NBCUniversal. In its federal lawsuit against DeSantis, Disney acknowledged that leadership opportunity, stating that it was filing in part because other businesses did not have the resources to oppose perceived government retaliation that Disney has.

The tests for leaders continue, of course. If one accepts leadership as an opportunity, what are those opportunities you will embrace? Will you use leadership to stand up and help others or simply to empower and enrich yourself? That decision reveals everything about the type of person a leader is.

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Ultimately, Chapek did take that stand. And current Disney CEO Bob Iger has stuck with it. Meanwhile, Gov. Ron DeSantis used his power not to help the Floridians he represents, but to pick a fight with one of the biggest names in America, if not the world.

Plenty of critics have long had real concerns about the unique legal structure that governs the Walt Disney World Resort’s land. But replacing a board hand-picked by Disney with one hand-picked by DeSantis does nothing to address those issues. It’s just a selfish power grab, and Disney has every right to resist that. Disney’s track record in Florida should have earned the company the respect of the state’s leadership and not this thin-skinned retaliation.

I am sure that many people would love for this whole mess to just go away. With time, it will be resolved. But I hope that no one forgets what Disney v. DeSantis has revealed about the leaders involved.

Orange County Register

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Niles: Disney-Florida battle says something about leaders on both sides

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