Posted in: NFL, Sports | Tagged: entertainment, Memoria In Aeternia, nfl, sports, Tampa Bay, Tony Dungy

Confederate Statues And Tampa Bay Sports Teams

Former Tampa Bay Buccaneers head coach Tony Dungy challenged the area's local sports teams to help pay to move a Confederate statue from in front of a local courthouse and the teams respond. It would be hard to not have heard of the controversy going on involving involving the removal of Confederate statues around the country and how it lead to protests, fights and a death in Charlottesville, Virgina over the weekend.

But that is just one of many statues that are placed around courthouses and government buildings. In Tampa, FL, many rallied to have the statue Memoria In Aeterna moved from the HIllsborough County Courthouse. The statue has been on the sight since 1911 after it was commissioned by the United Daughters of the Confederacy. The cost to move the statue would be $140,000 and the county commissioners voted 4-2 to block public spending on the move. That meant the money would need to come from private funding. Dungy, who coached the Buccaneers from 1996 to 2001 and then the Indianapolis Colts from 2002 to 2008, took to twitter about it, offering up $5,000 of his own money and appealing to the Buccaneers, the NHL Lightning and the MLB Rays

All three of the teams replied in a joint statement.

Along with the teams, Bob Gries, the former owner of the Arena League Tampa Bay Storm, pledged $50,000 and Tampa Bay Mayor Bob Buckhorn tossed in $1,000. It is believed that enough money has now been raised to move the statue to cemetery in Brandon, FL.

Source: Tampa Bay Times.

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