The Jacksonville Jaguars were on the field at home against the Miami Dolphins to close up shop on the 2023 preseason. Said came was suspended after a Dolphins player was stretchered off the field.
Earlier in the day, gun violence shook the Jacksonville community after three people were killed in a mass shooting at a local Dollar General store. The latest mass shooting in the United States was apparently racially motivated as authorities noted after it happened.
“This shooting was racially motivated and he hated Black people,” Jacksonville Sheriff T.K. Waters said at a news conference, via CNN. All three victims were black with the shooter being caucasian.
After their game was suspended inside TIAA Bank Field Saturday night hours after the shooting, the Jaguars released a statement on social media.
“As we say goodnight, we want to take a moment to acknowledge the violence that struck our community late this afternoon,” the Jacksonville Jaguars’ statement read. “The Jaguars offer our thoughts and prayers to the victims and encourage all of our fans to do the same.”
Professional sports teams are huge parts of their communities. We’ve seen NFL teams in other regions step up after mass shootings shocked their communities. That includes the Buffalo Bills doing their thing following the mass shooting at a grocery store back in May of 2022. Ten days later, the Houston Texans followed suit after the mass shooting in Uvalde.