Vikings Owners Donating $5M to Social Justice Causes After George Floyd Killing

The Minnesota Vikings announced Wednesday that they and the Wilf family would be making a $5 million donation to social justice causes, with the money going to organizations that "fight hate, racism and inequality."

The team will select those organizations in part after collaborating with Vikings players. 

The team's ownership group includes Zygi Wilf (team owner and chairman), Leonard Wilf (owner and vice chairman), Mark Wilf (owner and team president) and Jonathan Wilf (owner and executive vice president of strategic planning and business initiatives).  

Zygi Wilf said in a statement:

"Our organization and the players have shown a commitment to these causes over the last several years, but we know we need to and can do more. We want this investment to support the many diverse and meaningful social justice efforts throughout our country, but it can only be one piece of our overall work toward having a sustainable impact. Our actions within our communities will be the driving force for creating profound change."

On Wednesday, the team also announced an "endowment for the George Floyd Legacy Scholarship with an establishing gift of $125,000 by the Vikings Social Justice Committee.

The announcement comes in the wake of George Floyd's killing while in police custody. Video showed since-fired Minneapolis police officer Derek Chauvin kneeling on Floyd's neck for nearly nine minutes. Chauvin has been charged with second-degree murder, third-degree murder and second-degree manslaughter.

The three officers with Chauvin who did not intervene—Tou Thao, J. Alexander Kueng and Thomas Lane—were also fired and have been arrested on charges of aiding and abetting second-degree murder and second-degree manslaughter.