While many say 'Black Lives Matter,' Matt Ryan shows as much with $500K in GoFundMe campaign

Matt Ryan has many critics entering his 13th season as the starting quarterback for the Atlanta Falcons. It makes no sense, especially now that he's among the most impressive sports figures in the aftermath of George Floyd's tragic death.

Terence Moore | Jun 8, 2020

Somewhere, the spirit of late comedian Rodney Dangerfield is fidgeting with his tie beneath his wide and goofy eyes. While doing that, he's thinking of Atlanta Falcons quarterback Matt Ryan.

As for Dangerfield's words . . .

Well, to paraphrase the classic line from Dangerfield's standup routine: Matty Ice gets no respect.

No respect at all.

Yeah, but even Ryan's biggest critics have to respect this: With world-wide attention on the plight of African Americans after a Minneapolis police officer used his knee to choke the life from George Floyd, Ryan looked at the issues facing his adopted city of Atlanta. Then he spent this week starting a GoFundMe campaign with the stated mission of "Advancing The Lives (ATL) of The Black Community."

Ryan's goal is to raise $2 million.

To get things started, Ryan chipped in $500,000, prompting Falcons head coach Dan Quinn to throw in $25,000.

It's hard to disrespect that sort of financial contribution from Ryan, born and raised in the Philadelphia area. He has morphed into an Atlanta guy since the Falcons made this former Boston College star the third overall pick in the 2008 NFL draft.

Ryan has reached four Pro Bowls, and he passed for more yards in NFL history than any quarterback by his 10th, 11th and 12th seasons.

There's also a bunch of other Ryan stuff of note.

Still, Ryan has his haters.

To some, it's because Ryan was the man who replaced Michael Vick, eternally the people's choice in their world. To others, it's because Ryan was the quarterback when the Falcons blew that 28-3 lead three years and four months ago in the Super Bowl to the New England Patriots.

Get over it.

In this video, I'll give a $500,000 (and counting) reason why you should.

Published Jun 8, 2020

TERENCE MOORE

I started as a professional sports journalist in 1978 at the Cincinnati Enquirer after I graduated from Miami (Ohio) University, and I’ve been doing the same thing ever since. I also appear on national television, and I’m part of a weekly TV show in Atlanta. I’ve done everything from ESPN to MSNBC to The Oprah Winfrey Show. As for writing, I’ve gone from working for major newspapers in San Francisco and Atlanta to operating as a national columnist at AOL Sports, MLB.com, Sports On Earth.com and CNN.Com. I’ve covered a slew of sporting events. I’ve done 30 Super Bowls, numerous World Series and NBA Finals games, Final Fours, several Indianapolis 500, Daytona 500 and other auto races, major prize fights and golf tournaments, college football bowl games and more. I’ve also won national, state and local awards along the way.