A day after 10 people were killed and three others injured in a shooting at a Buffalo supermarket, Bills safety Micah Hyde committed to donating a portion of the proceeds from his charity softball game to the families of the victims.
The softball game was almost canceled due to the events of the weekend, but Hyde felt it was important to bring the community together after such a tragedy and do something positive.
A white 18-year-old man opened fire at a Tops Friendly Markets located in a predominantly Black neighborhood in Buffalo on Saturday. The act was described as racially motivated violent extremism by authorities.
When there is hate in the world, you kind of erase it with love. I guess that is the way to fight it.
The sponsors of the event presented a $200,000 check to the IMagine For Youth foundation prior to the game. The silent auction money collected at the event is going to the families of the victims. The money raised from the softball game is going back to Western New York.
The event attracted over 10,000 people to Sahlen Field in downtown Buffalo, after less than 2,000 attended the first charity softball game. More than three dozen Bills players were in attendance, including quarterback Josh Allen, tight end Dawson Knox and safety Jordan Poyer.
The Bills were praying for the victims and their families.
Multiple players said that they expect the team to get together Monday during meetings to figure out the best approach for the larger group to help the community and those most directly impacted by the shooting.
Allen said that his heart goes out to the victims and their families. We will be in the building tomorrow and we will figure out a way to help the families. When it does happen in your community, it hits home. I was sick all day. I was flying back from my sister's graduation, and it was so sad. It really is.
We will talk as a team tomorrow and figure out what we want to do, but there is no doubt that we will do something.
Allen said that he was happy that Hyde decided not to cancel the event as it gave the Bills players an opportunity to show their support for the community.
The locker room of a football team is made up of different ethnicities, races, and personality all mixed into one, according to Allen. This is who we are as a community, and we want to be a part of it.
While the events of the day included a home run derby and a seven-inning softball game between the offense and defense, the weight of what occurred in the community over the weekend was inescapable, including during a moment of silence and the emotional national anthem sung by Buffalo Police Officer Armonde.
Hyde said that if we stopped and canceled everything because of hate, we wouldn't move forward. I think that it was big throughout the last couple years in society, going through COVID and all that type of stuff to really just reach out, help each other and love on each other.
The Associated Press contributed to the story.
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