The week started with heartbreaking news for both the Portland Trail Blazers and Seattle Seahawks organization, as it was reported Monday that the owner of the said pair of North American pro sports franchises, Paul Allen, has passed away at the age of 65 due to complications of non-Hodgkin’s lymphoma.
Immediately after the terrible news hit the headlines, several players from the Trail Blazers and Seahawks families took to their respective channels to express their reactions to the death of Paul Allen.
Here’s Seattle dual-threat quarterback Russell Wilson’s emotional message on Twitter.
Wilson was the quarterback of the only Seattle team to take home a Vince Lombardi Trophy when the Seahawks defeated the Denver Broncos in Super Bowl 43 back in 2014. Also on that Super Bowl-winning squad was linebacker Bobby Wagner, who also offered his prayers for Allen and his family.
Some more tweets from other Seahawks players.
The Seahawks were bought by Paul Allen in 1996 when the team’s previous owner, Ken Behring, was attempting to relocate the franchise to Southern California, and in effect preventing Seattle from losing its beloved football squad.
At the time, Allen was also already the owner of the Trail Blazers, the NBA franchise be purchased in 1988.
Although Allen never saw his team bring home a Larry O’Brien hardware, he always made sure that the team had his full support, reciprocated here by Portland players whose lives were touched by the Microsoft’s co-founder in one way or another.
Although Miami Heat guard Dwyane Wade never wore Blazers threads, he still took time to give his condolences to the Allen family.
Paul Allen also had a share in the ownership of MLS franchise, Seattle Sounders.