The Jacksonville Jaguars announced the promotion of T-Neisha Tate to their newly created Vice President of Social Responsibility and Impact on Tuesday. The move makes her one of the first Black women to take on a VP position in the NFL.
Tate, a Jacksonville native who has been with the team for eight seasons, was previously the Jags’ Director of Programs for the Jaguars Foundation.
“In her new role, Tate is responsible for creating programming and executing on the organization’s social responsibility mission that is designed to emphasize respect and to inspire and unify players, staff, fans and area communities through efforts to make a positive, meaningful impact,” the Jaguars said in their statement revealing the news.
The role Tate will now hold comes as the Jags and many teams in the NFL have joined the fight against social injustice in America. The murder of George Floyd earlier this summer pushed the league into action, and much of the sports world in general has begun to demand change.
Several other high profile cases have garnered the attention of the sports world both before and after Floyd’s murder, including those of Ahmaud Arbery, Breonna Taylor, and most recently, the shooting of Jacob Blake in Wisconsin.
The Jags held a Black Lives Matter march back in June which included players, coaches, staff members, and current Jacksonville Sheriff Officer/ former Jags receiver Ernest Wilford. The march began at TIAA Bank Field and eventually made its way to the JSO downtown precinct.
“The Jaguars as an organization have placed strong emphasis on social responsibility and racial equality, and the creation of this position is taking that commitment to an entirely new and appropriate level,” said Jaguars President Mark Lamping in the team released statement.
“T-Neisha has long been a passionate and loyal member of our team, and her love for Jacksonville and its people is well known to anyone who has spent even a moment with her. This is a natural progression and well-deserved promotion for T-Neisha, who will undoubtedly make a difference for everyone who loves the Jaguars and believes that we can do more and be better.”
Tate graduated from Raines High School of Jacksonville. After high school, she attended Florida Community College at Jacksonville and Nova University. She majored in Early Childhood Education and her minor was in Performing Arts/Musical Theater.
In addition to her new role with the Jags, Tate was selected for recognition within the Paradigm for Parity Coalition: 2020 Women on the Rise, which acknowledges and salutes women “who are helping to change the face of corporate leadership and have been nominated by their sponsors or their mentors for their work.”
In addition to the Washington Football Team naming Jason Wright team president, Tate’s achievement is another that marks historic change taking place in the NFL.