Green Bay Packers president and chief executive officer Mark Murphy said he and his wife, Laurie, will make a $250,000 donation to Wisconsin causes that support social justice and racial equality.
Murphy said the Packers will also be working with its players to make an additional $250,000 donation in support of those causes.
“The Packers community has been horrified at the killings of George Floyd, Breonna Taylor, Ahmaud Arbery and so many others. 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,” Murphy said in a statement. “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.”
Murphy said he has visited with some players to hear about their experiences dealing with these issues.
“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,” Murphy said.
Murphy vowed to continue to educate himself about issues of inequality and discrimination, and “spend more time putting words into practice.”
“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,” he said.
Murphy is among several prominent Wisconsin community and business leaders to weigh in on the issues brought to the forefront by this week’s protests. Jack Salzwedel, chairman and chief executive officer of Madison-based American Family Insurance; Matt Cordio, founder and president of Startup Milwaukee; and a group of more than 70 Milwaukee-area leaders have voiced support for promoting equity in the community.
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