NFL lets teams decide on Charlie Kirk tributes for upcoming Sunday games

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. 

TIMELINE OF CHARLIE KIRK ASSASSINATION 

“Lift Every Voice and Sing has been performed at league events since 2020 following the murder of George Floyd and the events of the summer of 2020, including last Thursday during the Kickoff game in Philadelphia. It is also performed before the Super Bowl,” the statement continued. 

“This summer before the Hall of Fame game in Canton, the league honored the victims and those impacted by the attack at 345 Park Avenue. During Week 18 games last season, the NFL honored the victims of the Bourbon Street terrorist attack. Also, that season the NFL held a moment to recognize those lost in the deadly crashes near Washington, D.C. and Philadelphia and also prior to the Vikings-Rams Wild Card game that was moved from LA to Arizona due to the wildfires.”

At least one NFL team has already made it a point to fire an employee who made insensitive comments after Kirk’s assassination. 

The Carolina Panthers fired Charlie Rock, a member of the team’s communications department, after social media posts linked to Rock appeared to show him questioning why people were sad that Kirk had been shot and killed. 

“The views expressed by our employees are their own and do not represent those of the Carolina Panthers,” the team said in a statement posted to social media. “We do not condone violence of any kind. We are taking this matter very seriously and have accordingly addressed it with the individual.”

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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