Steph Curry + Peyton Manning
Supporting the Cause
Two of the most famous golfer-athletes, Peyton Manning and Steph Curry, have been two of the most active supporters of Historically Black Colleges and Universities lately. The Friday after Thanksgiving, they competed in the next iteration of “The Match” on TNT, with Phil Mickelson and Charles Barkley. The event was to promote equality and inclusion through donations to HBCUs. In September, Manning’s Peyback Foundation endowed six scholarships to four HBCUs in Tennessee and his home state of Louisiana. Last year, Curry announced a seven-figure donation to Howard University to fund the relaunch of its golf program, the first time in more than 40 years that the school will have a team. “This is going to go way beyond the game of golf, way beyond Howard,” Curry said. “No matter where you come from or what socioeconomic background you had, we all were that kid once upon a time that was just excited about finding out who they were as a person through athletics.” Manning and Curry are fervent golfers and philanthropists. Curry, an NBA star, was a 2015 recipient of Golf Digest’s Golfers Who Give Back honor. Former NFL quarterback Manning, an Arnie Award winner in 2016, teamed with Tiger Woods against Mickelson and Tom Brady in the second edition of “The Match” in May. The four players raised $20 million for COVID-19 relief. —Stephen Hennessey