The Denver Broncos are committed to social justice and reform and they are taking measures to provide resources to their cause and others.
The Broncos organization has a program called the Social Justice Fund, in which team members participate in building wealth to be distributed to many organizations across the country. After last year’s protests in honor of George Floyd and Breonna Taylor, the Broncos administration reaffirmed its stance. “We are committed to following through for [the team] and keeping it going as we move forward,” said Broncos President and CEO Joe Ellis in an article on the team’s website.
The team takes reform seriously and they even meet regularly for discussions about how they can choose deserving organizations to donate to and ways to improve the system. The Broncos have since added two other programs, “We Stand For” and “Broncos Inspire Change.”
The team has weekly social justice Power Hour meetings where they invite outside help and speakers to help them broaden their perspective with new ideas to formulate constructive ways for advocacy. The executive director of community development, Allie Engelken announced, “We [The Denver Broncos] were excited and honored to announce a $250,000 commitment towards player-designated social justice programs throughout Colorado, as well as local initiatives and individual players’ communities.”
They have narrowed their commitments to focus on three areas that they are most passionate about: education and youth, bail and criminal justice reform, and community mental health resources. So far the team has distributed $40,000 dollars each to five Colorado programs, said the article.
“It is something our players have done a great job with,” said coach (Vic) Fangio, taking pride in his team. “…I think our players — different than many people — sustained it throughout the season and have done a great job with this.”
