In their first home game since the assassination of Charlie Kirk, the Buffalo Bills honored the murdered far-right political commentator.
Before the kickoff on Thursday Night Football, the Bills displayed a graphic featuring Kirk’s name along with his birth and death dates. The graphic also showed images of the TurningPoint USA founder and his family.
Somber music played out as reporters on the ground noted that a few people stood for the display.
Fans present reported to the Daily Mail that the reaction was mostly subdued, with a few jeers when Kirk’s image appeared. One fan was overheard saying, ‘It’s over a week, get over it.’
While the NFL directed the Green Bay Packers to honor Kirk the day after his assassination, other teams had the freedom to make their own decisions on how to proceed.
Teams who honored Kirk were met with some backlash from fans. Buffalo was no different.
The Buffalo Bills were the latest team to put on a tribute to far-right activist Charlie Kirk
Kirk was shot in the neck and killed at an event at Utah Valley University last Wednesday
‘Not surprised but still disappointed. Why honor a non apologetic racist, homophonic misogynist,’ one Bills fan posted to X.
Another said, ‘Gross and disappointed,’ while a different Bills fan remarked, ‘Charlie who?’
‘If we lose tn I now know why,’ said another member of Bills Mafia.
Another Bills supporter commented, ‘I’ve been a Bills fan for over 30 years but NOT ANYMORE! This is a wholly disgraceful display (yo the advert is literally “Hunt” about a guy that got murdered out in the open).’
NFL teams find themselves in a difficult position regarding how to honor Kirk, facing backlash regardless of their choices.
On Sunday, several teams, including the New York Jets, Miami Dolphins, Tennessee Titans, New Orleans Saints, Pittsburgh Steelers, Dallas Cowboys, and Arizona Cardinals, paused their activities before kickoffs to commemorate the 31-year-old conservative activist.
The Cowboys, Jets and Titans all broadcast a picture of Kirk on their jumbotrons during a moment of silence. The Saints held a period of silence before the National Anthem in New Orleans.
The Dolphins also held a moment of silence for Kirk, along with the victims of the 9/11 terror attacks ‘and any other victims of violence’.
The Steelers, meanwhile, had their flag at half-staff for their game against the Seattle Seahawks.
Six NFL teams failed to honor the MAGA star during Week 2, unlike the Dallas Cowboys – who did so before their game against the New York Giants at AT&T Stadium (pictured)
Yet the Detroit Lions, Cincinnati Bengals, Baltimore Ravens, Indianapolis Colts and Minnesota Vikings did not pay tribute to him before their games.
Daily Mail contacted all five teams to ask why they chose not to honor Kirk. Indianapolis explained that the team instead held a moment of silence for Forrest Lucas – founder of Lucas Oil, the namesake of their stadium – which was always planned after he passed away last month. The Lions, Bengals, Ravens and Vikings did not initially respond.
The Ravens did hold a moment of silence when George Floyd was killed by Minneapolis police officer Derek Chauvin in 2020, and players from both franchises took a knee during the National Anthem in protest months later.
The Houston Texans decided to honor ‘all victims of violence and natural disasters across the country’ ahead of their game against the Tampa Bay Buccaneers on Monday.
Later in the evening, the Las Vegas Raiders then became the sixth franchise to snub the murdered conservative activist
After being approached by Daily Mail, the Texans said in a statement: ‘We held a moment of silence pregame to honor all victims of violence and natural disasters across the country. Unfortunately, there have been a number of recent tragedies, so we did not think it was appropriate to single any of them out and minimize the others that have occurred.’ The Raiders initially did not respond to a request for comment.
