TAMPA, Fla. – With their Kansas City Chiefs and Tampa Bay Buccaneers set to face off in Sunday’s Super Bowl, Jean Peters Baker and Andrew Warren—the elected prosecutors serving the two cities—have challenged each other on social media to a friendly wager.
“Because both leaders are committed to expanding social justice, they’re wagering a selection of products from Black-owned businesses in their communities,” said the SAO in a statement.
After the big game, the prosecutor from the losing city will go from hanging their head to lifting up others, supporting Black entrepreneurs by buying and sending their goods across the country to the winning city.
Jackson County Prosecutor Jean Peters Baker of KC and Hillsborough County State Attorney Andrew Warren of Tampa threw down the gauntlet on social media.
“During Black History month—or how about any other month of the year—it benefits our community to support Black-owned business. Many of these are in areas of my community that are most impacted by the great tragedy of gun violence. Such violence points us to the social justice issue of our time,” Baker said.
“When we raise the profile of Black-owned businesses and support them with our dollars, we send a message that people from every background, in every community, can count on us. Education and economic opportunity are two of the most powerful ways to lift someone up, and launching a business puts both those ideals into action,” Warren said.
Tampa products on the line include hand-crafted candles from Blue Sage Eco Boutique and a cheesecake from Augustine’s Cheesecakes . Kansas City creations up for grabs include lunch from Ruby Jean’s Juicery and a KC Monarchs shirt from the Negro Leagues Baseball Museum.
Their teams are set to battle against each other on the field Sunday, but Warren and Baker have already worked together in the past tackle a hugely important issue.
Both are members of Prosecutors Against Gun Violence. Founded in 2014, the group brings lead prosecutors from the state and local level together to address the challenging issue of gun violence. PAGV’s priorities include background checks, trafficking, domestic violence, mental health, protecting youth, and using technology to better enforce existing laws.