New Petition Defends Ray Lewis Statue

BALTIMORE, MD — A new online petition is picking up steam in support of the Ray Lewis statue outside M&T Bank Stadium. It is a direct response to another petition calling for the monument's removal that was created after the retired Raven knelt during the national anthem at the Sept. 24 game.

Both petitions are now on Change.org, where thousands have been expressing their opinions on the matter.

"...having a player's statue removed is just ridiculous," wrote the author of the Petition to Negate the Petition to Remove the Ray Lewis statue in front of Ravens Stadium.

The newer petition was written by Alan Moore of Millersville, who told Patch he hopes to "show the love we all feel for Ray Lewis."

See the petition on Change.org.

The statue of Lewis was installed at M&T Bank Stadium in Baltimore in 2014, two years after Lewis retired from the team. He played 17 consecutive seasons as a linebacker, including two Super Bowl wins.

"That statue is there because of his play as a Baltimore Raven, it's a tribute to his longevity as a Raven, his passion as a Raven and all of the work he put in to help Baltimore win Super Bowls XXXV and XLVII," Moore wrote on the Change.org petition. "In my opinion, he is [to the Ravens] just as Cal Ripken or Brooks Robinson are to the Orioles."

The petition defending the statue had more than 170 signatures Saturday, one day after it was posted.

During Sunday's game against the Pittsburgh Steelers, Moore said that he will be sitting in his club-level seats in Baltimore cheering on the Ravens, wearing his 52 jersey in support of Ray Lewis.

"He's my favorite Raven," Moore told Patch. "My hope is that somehow this petition gets some wings and gets hundreds of thousands of votes to show the love the we all have for Ray Lewis. Drown out the noise."

• Petition Calls For Removal Of Ray Lewis Statue

The "noise" started after Lewis, who retired from the team in 2012, joined members of the Ravens in kneeling during the national anthem in London on Sept. 24.

Two days before, President Donald Trump called for NFL players who take a knee during the national anthem to be fired. He was alluding to former San Francisco 49ers quarterback Colin Kaepernick, who stopped standing during the "Star-Spangled Banner" in 2016 to protest racial injustice.

More than 200 players sat or knelt during the national anthem at the Sept. 24 NFL games, according to the Associated Press. The week before, only four players had taken a knee.

After Sunday's game between the Ravens and Jacksonville Jaguars in London, a petition was created calling for the statue of Lewis to be removed for what the author said was a show of "disrespect" for the country.

"That song honors our country and our veterans who fought for it. To kneel during it is disrespectful, regardless of what you are protesting," the author wrote in a petition addressed to Ravens owner Steve Bisciotti to remove the Ray Lewis statue. "I will not stand for that kind of disrespect towards our country, especially from a legend such as Ray Lewis."

This week Lewis has said in TV and radio interviews that he was praying, not protesting.

"It's a bad day when a man is crucified for praying," Lewis told CBS Baltimore, saying he believes it is not appropriate to remove his statue. "This is where we come to as a country, to where now you really want to remove a monument?"

• Ray Lewis at Statue Unveiling: 'This is Forever My City'

As a Ray Lewis fan, Moore said he felt compelled to do something to respond to the petition about the statue.

"It's crazy," Moore said, adding he thinks "true fans" need to step up and defend Lewis.

In addition to creating the petition, Moore started a "Save The Ray Lewis Statue" Facebook page.

"...word needs to get out that true fans need to defend that man that gave our team his all," Moore told Patch.

Fans also turned out to support Lewis in front of his statue on Saturday afternoon, according to Fox Baltimore, which reported there was a rally at 2 p.m. outside the stadium.