Seahawks players announce 'Equality & Justice' fund to support education and other programs

SEATTLE -- The Seahawks organization has launched the "Seahawks Players Equality & Justice for All Action Fund" following a week of discussions about protests during the national anthem.

The Seahawks announced the fund Friday in "an effort to create lasting change and build a more compassionate and inclusive society."



The Seahawks continued in a statement online.

"Seahawks players have made their voices heard on the topics of injustices and inequality, both through protest and through their words," the Seahawks said. "And many of them have been taking action for a long time in the work they do in the community. Now, as a team, players are taking action as a unified group."

The Seahawks sat out the national anthem in the game versus the Tennessee Titans last week. Their actions followed statements by President Trump encouraging NFL owners to "fire" players who kneed during the national anthem.

The fund will go to support "injustice and inequality" by supporting "leadership and education programs."

The fund will be housed at the Seahawks foundation, the team said. An advisory board consisting of players, team leaders and business and community leaders will be formed to steward the funds.

Seahawks wide receiver Doug Baldwin says the fund stems from the number of requests the team has received from the public, asking "how can I help."

"We wanted to give them a place to do that," Baldwin said. "Then secondly, we wanted to have a central, unified effort, really allowing the name to speak for itself."

Cornerback Richard Sherman said the fund will be an example of what can be done if people come together.

"Our team wanted to do something that made a difference," Sherman said. "We wanted to make a tangible difference. Enough words have been said, enough actions have been shown, and we want to go out there and help as many people as we can who have been affected by divisiveness and inequality."

For more information on the fund can be found at the Seahawks website.