NFL players aren’t just speaking out. They’re also helping out.
Three NFL players who live in Tampa in the offseason but do not play for the Buccaneers helped cleanup efforts in the city Sunday, a day after looters damaged businesses in a strip mall.
Grace Remington of WTSP posted video of Bengals receiver Auden Tate, Bills receiver Ray-Ray McCloud and Colts cornerback Isaiah Rodgers with others helping remove debris left in the wake of weekend riots.
“You’ve got to start somewhere,” one of the players said.
A photo of more than two dozen people posing after the cleanup was posted on social media. Cadi Molina and McCloud used social media to spread the word among former high school players in the city, they told the Tampa Bay Times.
“We’ve all known each other for a long, long time,” Wake Forest quality control coach Devin Santana, who played at Sickles High School, told the newspaper. “We either played with each other or played against each other.”
Others from the community saw the group and joined the efforts.
They cleared shattered glass and picked up sheets of dislodged awning.
“We’re just trying to lead by example and express some positivity to the tough times right now,” Molina told the Times.