ORLANDO, FLORIDA | The Blue Card, a leading American nonprofit providing financial assistance to Holocaust survivors, is demanding accountability after a combat-sports event at Orlando’s Kia Center featured a known white supremacist fighter, antisemitic insults, Nazi salutes, and a swastika flag in the stands.
The Aug. 29 Duel: Arena 1 event included a kickboxing match between Paul Miller, an openly antisemitic internet personality known as “GypsyCrusader,” and Jewish influencer Ben “King” Azoulay.
Miller entered the ring with a prominent SS lightning-bolt tattoo visible on his chest. After defeating Azoulay by split decision, Miller used an antisemitic slur while addressing his opponent and appeared to perform Nazi salutes.
Video from the arena also showed a spectator displaying a large swastika flag as other people appeared to make Nazi salutes. Venue personnel removed the flag after becoming aware of it.
The incident led to fighting among spectators and widespread condemnation from Jewish organizations and public officials.
“The Entire Community Deserves Accountability”
Masha Pearl, executive director of The Blue Card, said the promoter and the Florida Athletic Commission must explain how Miller was approved to compete.
“The first unanswered question is how a known neo-Nazi was approved to fight at the Kia Center in the first place,” Pearl said.
“His history was public, and the SS bolts tattooed across his chest were impossible to miss. The promoter and Florida Athletic Commission must answer that question directly.”
The Florida Athletic Commission regulates professional boxing, kickboxing and mixed martial arts events in the state. No public explanation addressing Miller’s approval had been located by publication time.
Pearl said the audience participation demonstrated that the controversy extended beyond one competitor.
“The people in the crowd who displayed a swastika and joined in Nazi salutes show that this was larger than one fighter,” she said.
“Nazi ideology is rooted in white supremacy, and its danger extends far beyond the Jewish community.”
Pearl called on arena leadership and the Orlando Magic, the NBA team that plays its home games at the Kia Center, to support communities targeted by antisemitism and white supremacy.
“The arena’s leadership and the Orlando Magic must now use their platform and resources to support Jewish Floridians and every community threatened by this hatred, including through meaningful investment in Holocaust education and programs confronting antisemitism, racism and white supremacy,” she said.
“I work every day with Holocaust survivors who know what these symbols represent. The entire community deserves accountability and action.”
The Orlando Magic did not promote the Duel event. However, The Blue Card said the team’s prominence and connection to the venue give it an opportunity to respond publicly and support educational initiatives.
City Says First Amendment Limited Its Options
The City of Orlando owns the 18,500-seat Kia Center, while the municipal Orlando Venues department manages the facility.
Orlando Venues said the views expressed during the event did not reflect those of the city, the venue or its employees.
“As operators of public venues, the City is bound by the First Amendment,” the department said. “This means we cannot deny access because we disagree with the political ideology, opinion or perspective, irrespective of the message.”
The city said venue personnel removed the flag once they saw it.
That response has not resolved questions about how a large swastika flag entered the arena despite the Kia Center’s security and admission policies.
It also does not explain what vetting, if any, was conducted before Miller was approved to participate in a publicly accessible sporting event.
The First Amendment restricts a government-owned venue from rejecting an event solely because officials oppose its viewpoint. It does not necessarily prevent a venue, promoter or athletic regulator from enforcing neutral rules concerning security, threats, incitement, spectator conduct or professional eligibility.
Public Officials Condemn Display
Orlando Mayor Buddy Dyer condemned the Nazi imagery and said hatred would not be accepted in the city.
“Symbols of hate, including the Nazi flag, were brought to Kia Center this weekend,” Dyer said. “But hate will never be welcome here.”
Florida state Rep. Anna Eskamani called the display “disgusting” and urged public venues to reconsider their policies.
“This is another reminder of how prevalent extremism is in our society, and of the responsibility every one of us carries to combat antisemitism, racism, white supremacy and hate in all its forms,” she said.
Eskamani said constitutional protections must be respected but argued that conduct that invites or incites violence presents a different issue.
Kia America also condemned the behaviour and thanked venue employees for intervening.
“We appreciate the prompt action taken by venue personnel to address the situation,” company spokesperson James Bell said. “Such behaviours are in stark contrast to the values of respect and dignity that we, and our employees, fully support and promote.”
Local and national reports identified Miller as a convicted felon with a documented history of promoting white-supremacist and antisemitic views. The Anti-Defamation League has described him as a white-supremacist accelerationist.
From Condemnation to Action
The Blue Card provides emergency assistance and continuing financial support to Holocaust survivors living in the United States.
Its intervention places the controversy within a broader concern about the normalization of Nazi imagery and openly antisemitic conduct in public spaces.
Condemnations issued after the event are important, Pearl argued, but they do not answer how the situation was allowed to develop.
The unresolved questions include who approved Miller’s participation, what information was considered, how the swastika flag entered the arena, and what measures will be implemented to prevent comparable incidents.
For Holocaust survivors, Nazi symbols are not provocative entertainment or ordinary political expression. They represent an ideology responsible for systematic persecution and mass murder.
The Blue Card is asking the institutions connected to one of Orlando’s most prominent public venues to demonstrate that they understand that distinction through accountability, education, and concrete action.
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