Atlanta Falcons quarterback Matt Ryan was among the biggest names in the NFL world to speak up against police brutality and racial injustice in the United States following the murder of George Floyd two weeks ago.
Ryan’s adopted home city of Atlanta has been among the epicenters of protests around the nation following Floyd’s murder at the hands of a now-former Minneapolis police officer back on May 25.
Matt Ryan’s donation
It was just last week that Ryan donated $500,000 in cold hard cash to help the African-American community within Atlanta. Said donation came with the goal of raising $2 million through GoFundMe.
Ryan provided an update on Tuesday, and it’s all sorts of awesome.
As of Tuesday morning, Ryan had helped raise $1.173 million. The goal is to help those most impacted within the city of Atlanta.
Ahmaud Arbery murder
For the city of Atlanta, racial tensions boiling over did not start with the murder of Mr. Floyd. It was earlier in the spring that a video went viral showing a 25-year-old African-American man by the name of Ahmaud Arbery gunned down by a Caucasian man when he was out jogging in Glynn County.
The murder was shocking in nature and led to the men allegedly involved in it facing charges. Once news of Floyd’s murder made its way to the masses, city streets of Atlanta found themselves filled with tens of thousands of protesters. It’s something Falcons owner Arthur Blank has spoken up on recently.
NFL protests
Dating back several years, top figures around the NFL world continue to support the Black Lives Matter movement and those protesting in the streets. We have actually seen some join in with the protesters.
The backdrop here is a renewed debate regarding Colin Kaepernick’s status as a free agent. He initiated the national anthem protests back in 2016 and has not played a single snap in the NFL since that season.
As with Ryan, other big-name white quarterbacks have shown solidarity with the protests and those fighting against racial inequality. It’s going to be one of the top stories heading into the 2020 NFL season.