Packers president and CEO Mark Murphy released a statement Thursday after the May 25 death of George Floyd in Minneapolis.
But Murphy put money behind his words.
He and his wife, Laurie, are donating $250,000 to Wisconsin social justice groups. The Packers are matching the donation for a total of $500,000.
“The Packers community has been horrified at the killings of George Floyd, Breonna Taylor, Ahmaud Arbery and so many others,” Murphy wrote. “For their loved ones, the loss must be agonizingly magnified by the fact that if the victims were white, they would likely still be alive. I can’t imagine that pain.
“We condemn the systemic racism that has existed forever in this country. We stand with those raising their voices, protesting the injustices and demanding change.
“We must all hold ourselves accountable for the ways, small and large, knowingly and unknowingly, that we have contributed to the injustices. And, without taking away from this most important focus on the Black Lives Matter movement, we can also take this time to dissect our own role in discrimination toward people with differences in gender, gender identity, sexuality, religion, ethnicity, and physical and mental abilities. I will continue to educate myself on these issues and spend more time putting words into practice.
“My hope for the future comes from America’s young people, including our players. I had the opportunity to visit with some of our players and hear about their experiences. They are emotional and passionate about this issue. They want to make a difference by using their platform to bring attention to racism, police brutality, oppression and injustice, and they want to affect change. This strong commitment was displayed in the video seen today.
“The Packers support this desire. We will be working with our players to make a $250,000 donation to Wisconsin causes that support social justice and racial equality and announcing the donations in the near future.
“My wife, Laurie, and I will also be supporting the effort with a $250,000 donation to Wisconsin social justice groups.
“The donations will help, but we also must continue to educate ourselves and live our lives in accordance with what we proclaim on social media. I will do my best to live up to that goal.”