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Dungy pledges $5K to move Confederate statue; sports teams to donate

Tony Dungy and his wife Lauren are pledging $5,000 for the relocation of the Confederate monument outside of the old Hillsborough County Courthouse.

NFL Hall of Fame coach Tony Dungy during the Pro Football Hall of Fame Game-Enshrinees' Gold Jacket Dinner at Canton Memorial Civic Center on Aug. 4, 2017.

TAMPA, Fla. – Former Tampa Bay Buccaneers head coach Tony Dungy and his wife are pledging $5,000 to move the Confederate monument in downtown Tampa.

Dungy issued a series of tweets Thursday on the relocation of the 106-year-old Memoria en Aeterna statue from its current location outside of the old Hillsborough County Courthouse.

The NFL Hall of Fame coach challenged the Bucs, Rays and Lightning to help raise funds to help move the statue to the Brandon family cemetery.

There is GoFundMe account to raise the estimated $140,000 necessary to relocate the 106-year-old Memoria en Aeterna statue. The account has raised $52,145 as of Friday morning.

Celebrities and private citizens have since raised the $140,000 necessary to relocate the monument.

The Bucs, Tampa Bay Rays and Tampa Bay Lightning issued a joint statement Thursday afternoon, saying they will be donating to the effort.

The statement said: “Recognizing that this monument does not reflect the values of our community, in collaboration with the Greater Tampa Chamber of Commerce, our organizations have dedicated funds to assist in moving the statue from the public space in front of the courthouse. Now more than ever before, we must stand united and committed to diversity and inclusion as we all attempt to heal from the tragedy in Charlottesville.”

The Bucs and Rays organizations said in July they favor of the statue's removal from the old courthouse.

The Lightning did not make a comment on the statue in July, according to our partners at the Tampa Bay Times.

Dungy, 61, coached the Bucs from 1996-2001 before getting hired as head coach of the Indianapolis Colts in January 2002.

Mark Bergin is a digital journalist with 10News WTSP. Like him on Facebook and follow him on Twitter and Instagram. You can also email him at mbergin@wtsp.com.

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