The Buffalo Bills, Buffalo Sabres, and the National Lacrosse Leagues Bandits have raised over $1 million in funds to give support to victims of the area’s recent mass shooting.
On May 14, a Tops Friendly Market grocery store, in the predominantly Black section of East Buffalo, was the location of the latest instance of an all too familiar situation of a mass shooting in the United States. In this particular tragedy, 10 people were killed — including several senior citizens — and three others were injured. The motivation for the killings has since been confirmed to be racially driven.
Following the mass shooting, members of the Buffalo Bills, and other local teams visited a memorial in a show of support and solidarity for a city that has strongly supported their endeavors on the field of play. The Buffalo Bills Foundation and the NFL Foundation also donated $400,000 to the Buffalo Together Community Response Fund and several nonprofit organizations working on emergency response efforts.
Furthermore, donations also came from NFL Commissioner Roger Goodell and his wife Jane, as well as from Bills legend Thurman Thomas.
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Buffalo Bills, Buffalo Sabres, and Buffalo Bandits raise $1 million using ‘Choose Love’ T-shirts
However, the support for those impacted by the May incident has not ended there. On Wednesday, ESPN reported that through the sale of “Choose Love” T-shirts, the Bills, the NHL’s Sabres, and the NLL’s Bandits have helped to raise another $1 million to aid victims of the Buffalo mass shooting.
The shirts feature the aforementioned phrase, versions with each team’s logos. and were sold for $25 apiece. All proceeds will go to the Buffalo 5/14 Survivors Fund, which supports the survivors of those killed and others directly affected by the May 14 incident. Funds from the shirt sales will also go to the Buffalo Together Community Response Fund, which addresses other needs in the community related to the mass killing.
When members of the various local franchises visited a memorial for victims on May 18, they all wore the shirts.
“‘Choose Love’ — it’s a motto that I think maybe that we should start adopting as a country,” Bills quarterback Josh Allen said on May 18. “It’s the golden rule, treating those as you’d wanna be treated. Again, what happened here was … it’s disgusting, despicable and there are so many different words you can use and none of them are nice.”
