The Tampa Bay Rays will pay tribute to the victims of the Orlando mass shooting and help raise money and blood donations during Friday’s game.
Across the country, tributes and memorials have taken place to remember those lives lost and affected by the mass shooting inside an Orlando night club in the early hours of Sunday morning. That has extended to the world of sports, where teams and athletes have donated money and given their condolences to those who have lost loved ones in the senseless violence.
The Tampa Bay Rays are the closest professional team that is currently playing games, and it just so happens that their game on Friday night was designated as “Pride Night” even before the tragedy in Orlando. Now, the team is using the game to help out their neighbors just over 100 miles away, according to the team’s website:
"All open seats to Friday’s Rays-San Francisco Giants 7:10 p.m. game at Tropicana Field will be available for $5 with 100% of proceeds from those sales benefitting the Pulse Victims Fund, set up for the families of the victims.Special ‘We are Orlando’ T-shirts will be distributed to all fans in attendance as a symbolic gesture of unity and inclusion – we all stand with Orlando."
The team will also have blood donations buses outside of Tropicana Field for both Friday and Saturday’s games, while both teams will observe a moment of silence where each name will be displayed on the jumbotron inside the stadium. MLB vice president of inclusion Billy Bean, a former pro player who came out after his career was over, will throw out the first pitch on Friday.
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