ARTHUR BLANK

NFL Commissioner Roger Goodell and a few team owners and executives met with civil rights leaders who urged the league to make drastic changes to its hiring practices to improve diversity in leadership positions.

The NFL is highlighting its Inspire Change social justice initiative in stadiums and during game broadcasts during the final two weeks of the regular season.

The official seal of the City of Atlanta shows a phoenix rising from the ashes of the Civil War.

A disaster relief organization founded by actor Sean Penn is boosting Georgia’s drive to inoculate people against the coronavirus.

Troy Vincent wrapped up the NFL’s three-day General Manager Forum and Quarterback Coaching Summit with a passionate plea to anyone who still thinks there aren’t worthy Black candidates for head coaching positions.

Georgia Tech is announcing that its $25 million Kendeda Building has won certification as the 28th “living building” worldwide.

Amid the glow of baseball’s opening day, there's a cloud looming over the All-Star Game still more than three months away.

This photo provided by the New Orleans Saints shows Terry Fonetenot in an undated photo. The Atlanta Falcons named Terry Fontenot the teams general manager, Tuesday, Jan. 19, 2021. The 40-year-old Fontenot becomes Atlantas first Black general manager after spending 18 seasons with division rival New Orleans. Fontenot helped build a consistent winner as the Saints’ vice president and assistant general manager in charge of pro personnel. The Falcons fired general manager Thomas Dimitroff and coach Dan Quinn following a 0-5 start this season, which led to a 4-12 finish, Atlanta's third consecutive losing season.

– The world's richest person made the single-largest charitable contribution in 2020, according to The Chronicle of Philanthropy's annual list of top donations, a $10 billion gift that is intended to help fight climate change. Amazon's founder and CEO, Jeff Bezos, whose “real-time” worth Forbes magazine estimates at roughly $188 billion, used the contribution to launch his Bezos Earth Fund. According to the left-leaning Americans for Tax Fairness and the Institute for Policy Studies, from March 18 through Dec. 7, 2020, Bezos' wealth surged by 63%, from $113 billion to $184 billion. Bezos and the Zuckerbergs made up the next spots on last year's top 10 list, with $100 million donations — Bezos for Feeding America to aid food banks across the country and the Zuckerbergs to the same election security group. In February, the Chronicle will publish its list of the 50 biggest donors, which counts cumulative donations, not individual gifts.

AUSTIN, Texas – A new center for research and education into stuttering is being created at the University of Texas at Austin, the university announced Monday. The Arthur M. Blank Center for Stuttering Research and Education is being underwritten by a 10-year, $20 million legacy grant from Home Depot co-founder Arthur Blank, who owns the NFL’s Atlanta Falcons, the MLS Atlanta United, and the venue where both play, Mercedes-Benz Stadium. The center will be founded and led by Dr. Courtney Byrd, a professor of speech, language and hearing sciences at the university. She also is a founder of other stuttering clinics and institutes at the University of Texas. He, too, is a person who stutters who previously attempted treatment to improve fluency, according to the statement.

The Atlanta Falcons have named defensive coordinator Raheem Morris interim head coach after firing Dan Quinn. (AP Photo/Phelan M. Ebenhack, File)ATLANTA – The poor performance of Atlanta's defense under the leadership of Raheem Morris won't matter if Morris finds a way to win as the Falcons' interim coach. The more Morris wins, the better he'll look to Falcons owner Arthur Blank as perhaps more than just a temporary replacement for the fired Dan Quinn. Can Morris, elevated Monday to interim coach, be a candidate for the full-time job? Blank noted 11 games provides an unusually long opportunity for an interim coach to make his mark.

Atlanta Falcons head coach Dan Quinn stands with Atlanta Falcons Owner Arthur Blank before the first half of an NFL football game between the Atlanta Falcons and the Carolina Panthers, Sunday, Oct. 11, 2020, in Atlanta. Quinn was hired by the Falcons in 2015 after a highly successful run as Seattle’s defensive coordinator, highlighted by two straight trips to the Super Bowl. After going 8-8 his first season, Quinn guided the Falcons to one of the greatest years in team history. The Falcons made the playoffs again the following year, losing to eventual Super Bowl champion Philadelphia, but never seemed to fully shake their Super Bowl debacle. Dimitroff kept his job when Smith was fired at the end of the 2014 season after two straight losing campaigns.

Atlanta Falcons head coach Dan Quinn gestures as he walks off the field after an NFL football game against the Carolina Panthers, Sunday, Oct. 11, 2020, in Atlanta. He is the second NFL coach this season to lose his job after Houston’s Bill O’Brien was dismissed following an 0-4 start. Quinn was hired by the Falcons in 2015 after a highly successful run as Seattle’s defensive coordinator, highlighted by two straight trips to the Super Bowl. Therefore, we will install new coaching and personnel leadership of the Atlanta Falcons at the appropriate time." At Dallas, the Falcons led 20-0 and 29-10, were still up 39-24 with 5:00 to go.