Cowboys’ Brandon Carr donates, seeks help for Flint water crisis

Dallas Cowboys cornerback Brandon Carr is encouraging athletes to help his hometown of Flint, Michigan, amid the city’s crisis with lead-tainted water.

The Community Foundation of Greater Flint says Carr is donating $100,000 to create the Carr Cares Fund for Flint. He’s also donating $10,000 for the Safe Water Safe Homes Fund to help with replacing pipes and plumbing.

Carr released a statement saying he’s “especially concerned about the children of Flint who now, because of lead poisoning, face tremendous adversity for the remainder of their lives.” He wants the Carr Cares Fund for Flint to be a place where other athletes can make donations online.

State officials in Michigan have come under heavy fire for the crisis, which has exposed some 8,000 children to lead, a toxic element known to cause brain, nervous and developmental problems.

Gov. Rick Snyder appointed an emergency manager after taking office in 2011 to oversee the finances of Flint, which was facing bankruptcy and has a poverty rate of about 40 percent.

The emergency manager at the time, Ed Kurtz, decided the city should stop purchasing water from Detroit in order to save money. Flint was to join a new system that would take water from Lake Huron, but it wasn’t ready at the time of the switch. So treated water from the Flint River was used.

Darnell Earley, who replaced Kurtz after he resigned in 2013, oversaw the switch, but he maintains the decision was made before he was installed, The Flint Journal reported.

The Detroit Free Press reported that after the switch, several boil water notices were issued, and General Motors said it would no longer use Flint water after employees noticed rust on newly machined parts.

In September 2015, high lead levels were found by reseaserchers in the blood of Flint children, and a lead advisory was issued. A few weeks later, a public health crisis was declared.

Since, a state of emergency was issued by the city, then the county and finally the state. The Michigan National Guard was called in last month to help distribute water from fire stations. President Obama declared a state of emergency in mid-January.

Carr played college football for Grand Valley State University in western Michigan.

This story was originally published February 16, 2016 at 9:10 PM with the headline "Cowboys’ Brandon Carr donates, seeks help for Flint water crisis."