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Tampa Bay Bucs following other franchises in closing offices for Juneteenth

Updated  June 17, 2020 9:13am EDT
Tampa Bay Buccaneers
FOX 13 News

TAMPA, Fla. - A few days after the NFL announced the league will recognize June 19 as a company holiday, the Tampa Bay Buccanneers said it will follow suit and close its offices to recognize Juneteenth.

In a tweet, the franchise made the announcement Wednesday morning, saying:

"We must be purposeful in our reflection, acknowledgement, and efforts toward achieving collective change in society.

As we work together in this process, we must re-examine all manners in which cultural inequities that have existed for centuries to impact race relations."

The Bucs is the latest franchise to announce it will observe Juneteenth, and close its offices for the day. Other teams -- including the Carolina Panthers, Detroit Lions and Denver Broncos -- made the announcement after commissioner Roger Goodell's said the NFL will observe the ate as a permanent holiday.

‘The time is now’ to make Juneteenth national holiday

A century-and-a-half later, civil unrest is renewed by racial injustice. Some say the unofficial holiday should be made official. Google, Lyft, Target, Nike, and the NFL are at least recognizing Juneteenth as a company holiday.

Juneteenth is marked on June 19 to commemorate the Emancipation Proclamation being read in Texas more than two years after President Abraham Lincoln declared that all slaves will be freed. As part of its commitment to social justice, the NFL announced Friday it would recognize the day.

“The power of this historical feat in our country’s blemished history is felt each year, but there is no question that the magnitude of this event weighs even more heavily today in the current climate,” the memo read. “Juneteenth not only marks the end of slavery in the United States, but it also symbolizes freedom – a freedom that was delayed, and brutally resisted; and though decades of progress following, a freedom for which we must continue to fight.

“This year, as we work together as a family and in our communities to combat the racial injustices that remain deeply rooted into the fabric of our society, the NFL will observe Juneteenth on Friday, June 19th as a recognized holiday and our league offices will be closed. It is a day to reflect on our past, but more importantly, consider how each one of us can continue to show up and band together to work toward a better future.”

The NFL’s Juneteenth declaration is the latest effort by the league to take part in social justice issues.

FOX News contributed to this report.