The Tampa Bay Buccaneers joined the NHL’s Lightning and MLB’s Rays to contribute to an effort Thursday that will relocate a Confederate monument from downtown Tampa.
Buccaneers, Rays, Lightning help efforts to relocate Confederate monument from Tampa
“We must stand united and committed to diversity and inclusion.”
Kim Klement-USA TODAY Sports
After a white supremacy rally in Charlottesville, Va. over the weekend descended into chaos, citizens in Tampa asked Hillsborough County on Wednesday to relocate a monument from their city. The citizens were tasked with raising the money themselves for the statue to come down and just one day later, a $140,000 goal was reached.
Among the donations was $5,000 from former Buccaneers head coach Tony Dungy, who challenged the Buccaneers, Rays, and Lightning to help the cause.
On Thursday, the three teams answered Dungy’s call and released a joint statement on pitching in to remove the Confederate monument from downtown Tampa.
“Recognizing that this monument does not reflect the values of our community, in collaboration with the Greater Tampa Chamber of Commerce, our organizations have dedicated funds to assist in moving the statue from the public space in front of the courthouse,” the statement reads. “Now more than ever before, we must stand united and committed to diversity and inclusion as we all attempt to heal from the tragedy in Charlottesville.”
The exact amount that the Buccaneers and two other teams added wasn’t revelaed, but the Greater Tampa Chamber of Commerce committed $70,000 to the relocation of the monument on Thursday. Bob Gries, former owner of arena football team the Tampa Bay Storm, also added $50,000.
Even Tampa Mayor Bob Buckhorn contributed $1,000.
With the $140,000 goal easily reached, the plan is to relocate the monument to a small private family cemetery in Brandon, Fla. about 12 miles away from its current location.
The “Unite the Right” rally in Charlottesville over the weekend that descended into violence was organized as a protest of the planned removal of a statue of Confederate general Robert E. Lee from a park in the city. On Saturday, a car drove into a crowd of counter-protesters, killing one and injuring 19.
Efforts to remove and relocate other Confederate monuments and statues have ramped up in the days since the Charlottesville rally, and the Buccaneers have joined that endeavor.
