A gunman opened fire during a Jason Aldean concert on the Las Vegas strip late Sunday night, a massacre that has cost at least 58 lives with north of 500 being injured.
It was a situation of panic and tragedy below the famed Mandalay Bay Hotel and Casino, where the 64-year-old Stephen Paddock opened fire from.
While sports itself should take a backseat during these more terrible of times, the Oakland Raiders themselves are about to be a paramount fixture in the Vegas community. The organization is slated to relocate in 2020.
It’s in this that the Raiders themselves released a statement Monday morning.
“The Raiders family is shocked and saddened by the tragedy in Las Vegas and our thoughts and prayers are with the victims, families and first responders,” the Raiders said in a statement, via the team’s official website. “The heart of the Raider Nation goes out to Las Vegas.”
Sports acts an outlet during the scary times we live in. The sports world can also play a vital role in helping those impacted within their communities.
For a Raiders franchise that’s currently located in a crime-ridden Northern California city, the shock of their soon-to-be new home being impacted by the worst mass shooting in American history has to feel too real.