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June 3 (UPI) -- Dallas Cowboys quarterback Dak Prescott has pledged to donate $1 million to "improve police training and address systematic racism through education and advocacy in our country." Prescott announced the donation Wednesday on his official Instagram account. The post on social media represented his first public comments about George Floyd, a 46-year-old black man who died while in police custody last week in Minneapolis.
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"As our communities take action, protesting and fighting for the justice of George and every black life, I am with you!" Prescott wrote in the post.
Prescott said he has battled anxiety during the ongoing coronavirus pandemic. He also is mourning the death of one of his brothers, Jace, in April.
"He and I shared the same mission: find a bigger purpose," Prescott wrote Wednesday. "As I process the passing of my brother, I have come to realize we are not given a voice to pronounce how much we matter. It is our obligation to tell our neighbor how much they matter to us and take a stand for the greater good of each other."
Floyd died after Derek Chauvin, a white police officer, knelt on his neck for more than eight minutes. Four police officers were fired because of the incident, and Chauvin was initially charged with third-degree murder and second-degree manslaughter for pinning Floyd to the ground, an action that was caught on a widely viewed video.
On Wednesday, Minnesota authorities escalated the murder charge against Chauvin to second degree and levied charges against the other three officers involved in the arrest and death of Floyd.
Prescott expressed his respect for police but asked for them to change.
"I have the utmost respect for those of you with a passion for protecting and serving your communities," Prescott wrote. "When you chose to wear the badge of a police officer, you pledged to protect life and property through the enforcement of our laws and regulations.
"How can you claim to uphold the law when those within your ranks don't abide by it? You need to hold your own accountable. Each of you are as guilty as the men who stood beside Derek Chauvin if you do not stand up against the systemic racism plaguing our police forces nationwide. Take action!"
Prescott ended the lengthy post by saying he would stand alongside law enforcement in the reform.
"We will clean our streets and our communities not only of the looting and violence," he wrote, "but most importantly the racism, racial-profiling, and hate!"
