ST. PETERSBURG, Fla. -- The Tampa Bay Rays have yet to take the field for Opening Day but the team is already making noise in the baseball world.
The Rays took to Twitter on Friday morning to issue the following statement:
"Today is Opening Day, which means it's a great day to arrest the killers of Breonna Taylor."
Breonna Taylor was a 26-year-old Black woman who was fatally shot by police in Louisville, Kentucky, who executed a "no-knock" warrant. Taylor was asleep when officers stormed into her home.
Like George Floyd's death in Minnesota in May, Taylor's death from March 2020 became the center of many protests across the country and in the Tampa Bay area. Their deaths reopened nationwide discussions on police brutality and systemic racism.
In addition to calling for justice for Breonna Taylor, the Rays pledged to donate $100,000 to CDC Of Tampa, Pinellas County Urban League, Equal Justice Initiative, NAACP Hillsborough and People Empowering and Restoring Communities (PERC).
The Rays organization has committed $100,000 to local groups @CDCofTampa_ @PCUrbanLeague @eji_org Remembrance Project @NAACP5139 @pinellasreentry who fight systemic racism.
Please visit our social justice resource guide: https://t.co/irYdBs9eMM #BlackLivesMatter pic.twitter.com/O0S6LaBGDH
— Tampa Bay Rays (@RaysBaseball) July 24, 2020
On the field, the Rays are looking to build off a very successful 2019 campaign. Tampa Bay won 96 games and was a game short of upsetting the eventual AL champs, the Houston Astros, in the division series last season.
This story was originally published by KJ Hiramoto at WFTS.
