The Detroit Lions pulled off an exhilarating win over the Minnesota Vikings, the first of their 2021 season. They picked the right time to provide some excitement and positivity.
The Detroit community, along with the entire country, was grieving this week after a shooting at Oxford High School resulted in the deaths of four students. Both teams in this game and several people from the Lions honored those who lost their lives.
The division rivals wore shirts and hats of the school during warmups. They wore decals of Oxford's logo on their helmets and observed a moment of silence.
Lions & Vikings both wearing t-Shirts honoring the lives lost in the Oxford HS shooting – The school is just about 45 minutes from downtown Detroit pic.twitter.com/AMkI3aX60K
— Dawn Mitchell (@DawnAtFOX9) December 5, 2021
Detroit safety Jalen Elliot wore a custom jersey for Tate Myre, a varsity football player who was killed in the shooting, to the game.
Jalen Elliott wore a No. 42 'Myre' jersey to honor the late Oxford High student 🙏
Tate Myre was killed in a school shooting last week
(via @Lions) pic.twitter.com/UAQKdbEmch
— B/R Gridiron (@brgridiron) December 5, 2021
After the win, Lions head coach Dan Campbell honored the Oxford community with the game ball and read the names of the deceased students.
After Detroit's first win of the season, Lions coach Dan Campbell dedicated the game ball to the entire Oxford community.
He then read the names of those who were killed.
🎥 @Lionspic.twitter.com/6kU7mYkxkL
— The Athletic (@TheAthletic) December 5, 2021
The Lions and Vikings put aside their rivalry to pay their respects to the community, which was a tremendous symbol of unity. Although Minnesota didn't try to, they helped to deliver some good feelings for a community in need of something to lift their spirits.
The heartbreaking tragedy is sadly a repeating occurrence of lethal shootings at schools in the United States. The cycle was only broken up by the COVID-19 pandemic, which prohibited schools from operating in person for a period of time. Honoring those who lose their lives is good and just, but it must be accompanied by changes that seek to eradicate tragedies like these.