JACKSONVILLE, Fla. – The Jaguars are moving forward with their social responsibility message, putting Jacksonville native T-Neisha Tate in a role that will expand on the team’s mission of social causes in the area.
Tate, who has been with the franchise more than eight years, will serve as the vice president of Social Responsibility & Impact with the team. Mark Lamping, Jaguars team president, said that creating the position at this time is a message that social causes that were brought up in the spring and summer aren’t going to be fleeting. Lamping said the Jaguars are “taking that commitment to an entirely new and appropriate level.”
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“I am a Brown girl from the Northside of Jacksonville, a proud Raines Viking, and a woman who didn’t realize one could dream of working in professional sports, let alone be able to use a platform as powerful as the Jaguars to break down barriers and build understanding,” Tate said.
“I am humbled by the commitment the Jaguars organization has made to essential issues such as social justice and equity. I am honored to be leading the charge to better my community by leveraging the power of football. My goal is to be a role model for every Black and Brown girl and woman whose possibilities and potential have yet to be realized.”
Tate’s focus in the position will be multi-faceted.
The team said that she will focus on police and community relations, education and economic advancement and creating programming on the team’s social responsibility front.
In the wake of several high profile deaths of Blacks this summer — Ahmaud Arbery, George Floyd and Breonna Taylor were significant turning points in their own ways — the Jaguars have been active in speaking out for social justice.
On June 5, members of the organization — coaches, players and other employees — marched from TIAA Bank Field to the Jacksonville Sheriff’s Office to speak out on social justice and inequality issues. Two days prior to that, team owner Shad Khan wrote a powerful op-ed detailing his struggles with racial encounters and spoke of his desire to do more.
“T-Neisha has long been a passionate and loyal member of our team, and her love for Jacksonville and its people is well known to anyone who has spent even a moment with her,” Lamping said. “This is a natural progression and well-deserved promotion for T-Neisha, who will undoubtedly make a difference for everyone who loves the Jaguars and believes that we can do more and be better.”