While discussing protests by players from his team and others earlier this week, Seahawks wide receiver Doug Baldwin said that he thought President Trump’s comments had overshadowed “the actual point of inequality and injustice” that led to the protests in the first place.
Baldwin and his teammates have come up with what they think will be a way to address those issues directly. Seahawks players announced through the team an initiative to raise money for programs.
“In an effort to create lasting change and build a more compassionate and inclusive society, we are launching the Seahawks Players Equality & Justice for All Action Fund to support education and leadership programs addressing equality and justice. We invite you to join us in donating and taking action.”
Baldwin explained that the impetus for the fund came from people outside the team asking what they could do to help move from making a statement to making an impact in communities.
“I think that was really important, because for the longest time now, we’ve been trying to figure out, what can we do as a team to impact change?” Baldwin said. “And this is something that’s really tangible to all of us. And again, we really wanted this to be a unified effort. We’ve been trying to make a unified demonstration, a unified message, and now this is a unified action we can all take. And now we’re going to be able to incorporate people outside of the building.”
The fund will be housed at the Seattle Foundation and an advisory board made up of “players, team leadership and business and community leaders” will be formed to direct grants to non-profit organizations.