On Thursday, Carolina Panthers head coach walked into practice wearing the hat his daughter, Courtney, had worn as a softball player in the Pan Am Games. It was red, with "PR" on the front to represent Puerto Rico, where Rivera's family is from.
Shortly prior, he had pledged to put his money where his hat is.
That morning, Rivera tweeted to Ric Elias, the founder and CEO of Red Ventures, his pledge to donate $50,000 to aid Puerto Rico after it was devastated by Hurricane Maria earlier this month, leaving millions without power or water.
Elias said he would match every donation up to $5 million.
"Or, you can also donate to the Red Cross by texting 'Maria' to 90999," said Rivera. "Again, we know the situation is very dire there and it would be tremendous to have the support of the people here."
Rivera said his family in Puerto Rico has all been accounted for.
"As I said, whatever we can do to help out, I think it would be greatly appreciated," he said. "(They need) food, water and electricity right now. Those that don't have generators are really struggling up there. Getting fresh water and food obviously is the other concern, and then fuel for the generators and stuff like that."
