Page 25 - Florida Sentinel 9-21-18

Sports
Steelers Vs.
Bucs Create Social Justice Fund With $1 Million Commitment
Undefeated Bucs
On Monday
Night Football
The Tampa Buccaneers are on top of the world. Fol- lowing back-to-back surpris- ing victories, the Buccaneers face-off against the Mike Tomlin and the Pittsburgh Steelers.
As Antonio Brown’s Twitter stirs up controversy and Le’Veon Bell contin- ues to no-show, the Steelers are on the brink of collapse, while the Buccaneers hope to continue their hot start.
Even with the distrac- tions, Pittsburgh fields one of the most talented teams in the AFC. The Buccaneers are indeed in for another hard fought contest.
If Tampa Bay plans on keeping their undefeated season alive, these three players need to be at their best.
The Bucs secondary faces their toughest test of the year when the Steelers receivers come to town. They had their hands full with the Saints’ Michael Thomas in Week one, but Pittsburgh’s receiv- ing corps is on another level.
Led by Antonio Brown,
Tampa Bay Buccaneers players Gerald McCoy, Desean Jackson, Donovan Smith, Ali Marpet (and oth- ers) and Darcie Glazer-Kassewitz announced their new social justice initiative at the Tampa Police Train- ing Academy as Mayor Bob Buckhorn, players,and police engaged each other on issues in the community.
The Tampa Bay Bucca- neers and Ryan Fitzpatrick (pictured) will get their first taste of primetime football this season against the Pitts- burgh Steelers on Monday Night.
the Steelers continue to have one of the most prolific aer- ial attacks in the league. So far this season, the Steelers have thrown for 755 yards, the second-best mark in the league behind Tampa Bay.
Brown is followed by JuJu Smith-Schuster who already has 240 yards on the year. The Bucs will have their hands full on Monday night at 8 p.m. on ESPN.
Earlier Tuesday, the Bears became the first team to an- nounce they are maximizing the league’s social justice matching program.
Now, the Buccaneers and more than a dozen players have announced a year-long, player-led social justice pro-
Uber Driver Suing Bucs’ QB Winston Over Groping Incident
JAMEIS WINSTON
A female Uber driver in Ari- zona is suing Tampa Bay Buc- caneers star quarterback Jameis Winston, accusing him of sexual assault.
Court documents say the woman filed the suit in Arizona on Tuesday and is seeking more than $75,000 in dam- ages. She said Winston grabbed her crotch in the drive-thru of a Mexican restau- rant in the Phoenix area in March 2016.
After an investigation into the incident, the NFL in June suspended Winston for three games for violating the league’s personal conduct policy.
The suit comes as Win- ston approaches the final game of the suspension, and with the Buccaneers off to a 2- 0 start.
He missed the opener at New Orleans and last week’s home victory over defending- Super Bowl champion Philadelphia. He is eligible to return on Tuesday, the day after Tampa Bay plays the Pittsburgh Steelers.
gram that doubles the com- mitment of the Bears and their players.
The Tampa Bay Bucca- neers Foundation’s Social Jus- tice Fund, a campaign driven by Buccaneers players and matching contributions from the team, will commit more
than $1 million to Tampa Bay- area charitable organizations. The Social Justice Initia-
tive will include monthly events focused on youth em- powerment, police relations, criminal justice reform, racial equality and workforce devel- opment.
DeSean Jackson: Bucs
Have To Keep Riding Ryan
Fitzpatrick's Hot Hand
The Tampa Bay Bucca- neers will have a decision to make after this week's Mon- day Night Football game against the Pittsburgh Steel- ers: continue to ride the hot streak of backup quarterback Ryan Fitzpatrick, who has brought them to 2-0 for the first time since 2010, or let starter Jameis Winston take back the reins when he returns from his three-game suspension.
Wide receiver DeSean Jackson says they should stay with Fitzpatrick.
In two weeks, Fitz- patrick, 35, has thrown for 819 yards -- more than any other quarterback in the league. He's completing nearly 78 percent of his passes and has thrown for eight touchdowns, with one rushing touchdown. His 151.5 passer rating is also higher than any other quarterback in the league."He's been playing on fire right now," Jackson said. "With the way the team is rallying behind him and just playing lights-out foot- ball, you have to kind of honor it. You know what I'm saying? You can't take the hot man out. You got the hot fire right now. It's like 'NBA Jam.' We used to play 'NBA Jam' --
DESEAN JACKSON
whoever's got that hot fire shot, you got to keep shoot- ing, man."
"Well, I mean his numbers are off the charts. I guess how would you expect them -- everybody -- to respond? Of course, everybody's re- sponded well," Bucs coach Dirk Koetter said Monday. "Our team's playing well. Our team's doing something that not many thought they could. We have a good locker room. Our guys believe in each other right now. Any player that's playing well -- he's backing it up with his play -- you get what you deserve."
Jackson, 31, has been on the receiving end of many of Fitzpatrick's big plays. He now leads the league with 275 receiving yards, has three touchdowns and on Sunday, tied Jerry Rice's record of 23 touchdowns of 60 or more yards.
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