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The NFL released a statement on Friday addressing a recent tribute to Charlie Kirk ahead of its most recent game, and said teams will be left to make their own decisions about whether to follow suit this Sunday.
Thursday night’s game between the Green Bay Packers and Washington Commanders featured a moment of silence in honor of Kirk before kick-off.
“Last night’s moment was the league’s decision. It’s up to the clubs for this Sunday’s games,” the league’s statement read, per multiple reports.
The statement further addressed the context of the tribute, comparing it to other moments of silence following tragedies.
“There have been moments following school shootings or an attack on a house of worship such as the Tree of Life Synagogue in Pittsburgh in 2018. There also have been moments following major international incidents such as Hamas attack on Israel in October 2023 and weather-related incidents such as major hurricanes and fires,” the statement continued.
“This is in addition to honoring those in the NFL family from tributes to recently passed players or personnel, or a player such as Damar Hamlin in 2023. The NFL also honored before Super Bowl LIV NBA star Kobe Bryant and the other victims of the helicopter crash (Gianna Bryant, Sarah and Payton Chester, Christina Mauser, Ara Zobayan) and also Pro Football Hall of Famer Chris Doleman who passed that week.”
The league made reference to sweeping changes to field and pre-game protocols following the death of George Floyd in 2020, and moments of silence following other tragedies in the past calendar year.
Elsewhere in American sports, the New York Yankees and Chicago Cubs each held a moment of silence ahead of recent games to honor Kirk following the assassination on Wednesday. Meanwhile, MLB has instructed all teams to, at the very least, keep all American flags at half-staff throughout the weekend in honor of Kirk.
“MLB asked all of the Clubs to follow the direction of the White House Presidential Proclamation and fly flags at half-staff in their ballparks,” an MLB spokesperson told Fox News Digital.
The NHL, NBA and WNBA have made no official statements addressing Kirk’s assassination. Fox News Digital has reached out to all three leagues to ask if they would, but has not received a response.
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The post NFL to let teams decide on Charlie Kirk tributes after mandating moment of silence in recent game appeared first on Fox News.
