In the aftermath of Hurricane Katrina, television sets are overtaken with images of flooded New Orleans streets and demolished Biloxi houses, while cell phone service is a mere memory.The destruction is unexplainable, but after seeing the images over and over again, I needed a bit of shining light, so I turned to ESPN to clear my mind.

At last a sense of calmness came over me as I caught a post game interview with Baton Rouge native and current Atlanta Falcons running back, Warrick Dunn, who issued a challenge to every NFL player and team except for the New Orleans Saints.

Dunn challenged every active NFL player to each pay $5,000 each of their own money for the relief efforts of Hurricane Katrina. If every player on the 31 teams takes part, each team would have $270,000 to give to the relief efforts.

When it is all said and done, the total amount raised would be just over $8.1 million.

Dunn is a prime example of what an athlete should be: worried about the fans and not about the money. I was never really a huge Warrick Dunn fan, but now I feel it’s my duty to support him. Just as he has thrown his support behind his home state, I must now throw my support behind him.

It’s times like these when everyone, whether it’s the mailman, police, fire department or even athletes must come together and help those in need.

Sports do provide a relief from the images on the news, but the importance of sporting events must be put on the back burner during times like these.

Now is the time to see which athletes will step up and do something to help other people. Joe Horn, Deuce McAllister, Michael Lewis, Peyton Manning, Eli Manning, Steve McNair and Brett Favre are just a few of the athletes who have taken time out of their schedules and have begun helping.

Even individual franchises, such as the Houston Texans and New York Yankees, have donated $1 million each to help with relief efforts.

It appears that teams are realizing the severity of this storm and are doing everything to help out.

Although Dunn’s challenge will open the eyes and ears of every football player, it shouldn’t take a single player to have to tell athletes what they should already know.

Anytime there is a disaster like this, I feel it should be an athlete’s responsibility to take action and do just as Dunn did.

People need light at the end of the tunnel and need to see athletes who truly care give extra hope to those in need. It’s nice to see athletes taking charge and forgetting about the money for a change.

In the end I believe it will pay off because athletes like Dunn will never be classified as money-hungry or greedy. Simply showing they care will change the way many people see athletes. They will be viewed as not just athletes but as normal people who were affected by the storm in one way or another.

It may take a while, but hopefully every professional athlete will get into the act and will help in some way. With the time, patience and care given to the relief efforts by some of its higher-profile athletes, sports can once again prosper.