Teamwork! Tampa Bay sports teams announce they are picking up the tab to move Confederate monument

Take a good look—this statue is being moved

In a joint announcement, the Tampa Bay Bucaneers, Tampa Bay Rays and the Tampa Bay Lightning announced they are picking up the remaining tab (approximately $140,000) to move the Confederate monument that is currently located in front of the Hillsborough County Courthouse. 

We've issued a joint statement with the @TBBuccaneers and @TBLightning. #TeamTampaBay pic.twitter.com/MDWKnVgdrQ

— Tampa Bay Rays (@RaysBaseball) August 17, 2017

The move comes after county commissioners said the statues could come down, but only with private money and it had to be raised within a 30 day window:

A Confederate memorial statue outside the downtown courthouse may not be going anywhere after all. One month after voting to relocate it, county commissioners set a one-month deadline for finding money to move it.

The commission voted 4-2 in July to allow the Florida Daughters of the Confederacy to relocate the monument to the Brandon Family Cemetery.  The motion passed largely due to a pledge to use only private funds to move the statue – not taxpayer money.

But private fundraising has failed to come close to raising the remaining $140,000 -- of an estimated $280,000 -- needed to move the statue, and now commissioners have set a deadline.  If the money isn’t raised within 30 days, the statue may not be going anywhere.

That shortfall prompted coaching legend Tony Dungy to kick in, with the Tampa Bay teams picking up the rest of the tab. Teamwork!

Our County says private $$ must be raised to move Confederate statue. Lauren and I are in for $5K. We challenge Bucs Rays Lightning to help! pic.twitter.com/dGRd1BTFkp

— Tony Dungy (@TonyDungy) August 17, 2017