Just one day after Hillsborough County, Florida commissioners voted to block public spending to move a Confederate monument from the county courthouse, the campaign to move the statue reached its $140,000 goal Thursday, with the help of the Tampa Bay sports teams and former Buccaneers head coach Tony Dungy.
The county commissioners ruled on Wednesday that $140,000 in private funds needed to be raised to move the statue, setting a 30-day deadline for the payment to be made.
Dungy tweeted out an appeal to the Tampa-area sports teams to provide funds on Thursday, and soon all three organizations did so.
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Our County says private $$ must be raised to move Confederate statue. Lauren and I are in for $5K. We challenge Bucs Rays Lightning to help! pic.twitter.com/dGRd1BTFkp
— Tony Dungy (@TonyDungy) August 17, 2017
A joint statement from us, @raysbaseball, & @tbbuccaneers regarding the movement to remove the Confederate monument from downtown Tampa. pic.twitter.com/U87JQsYXO4
— Tampa Bay Lightning (@TBLightning) August 17, 2017
In addition, former Tampa Bay Storm owner Bob Gries donated $50,000 and current mayor of Tampa Bob Buckhorn chipped in $1,000. According to the removal campaign’s GoFundMe page, the required $140,000 has been raised.
According to reports, the statue will be moved to a cemetery in nearby Brandon, Florida once the payment is made.
Confederate monuments are being removed nationwide after a “Unite the Right” rally in Charlottesville, Virginia last weekend left one woman dead and many more injured. The rally was in protest of the removal of a Robert E. Lee statue in Charlottesville’s Emancipation Park.
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