Four NFL teams did not hold moments of silence for Charlie Kirk
League held a Thursday tribute and left Sunday decisions to clubs; most teams honored the slain conservative activist
Four National Football League teams — the Cincinnati Bengals, Detroit Lions, Indianapolis Colts and Baltimore Ravens — did not hold moments of silence for conservative activist Charlie Kirk before their games on Sunday, while a majority of home clubs observed tributes, according to reports.
Several teams displayed formal moments of remembrance before kickoff Sunday, including the New York Jets, Arizona Cardinals, Miami Dolphins, New Orleans Saints, Pittsburgh Steelers, Tennessee Titans, Kansas City Chiefs and Dallas Cowboys. The NFL had staged a leaguewide moment of silence on Thursday before the Green Bay Packers’ game against the Washington Commanders and subsequently left decisions on additional tributes to individual clubs.
Kirk, 31, was shot and killed Wednesday while speaking at an on-campus event at Utah Valley University. Local and national attention to the killing led multiple sports organizations and teams to decide independently whether to mark his death during scheduled games. The New York Yankees held a moment of silence before their Thursday game, and the Jets displayed images of Kirk, his wife and children on the stadium videoboard on Sunday.
Tyler Robinson, 22, has been identified by authorities as the alleged shooter and is expected to be charged with aggravated murder. The NFL’s decision to conduct a leaguewide silence on Thursday and leave subsequent choices to clubs followed media and public attention around the incident.
In a statement after Thursday’s tribute, the league said the initial moment was its decision and that clubs would determine whether to hold tributes on Sunday. The statement noted that clubs often hold moments following tragic events that affect their communities and cited prior in-stadium observances after incidents such as the 2018 Tree of Life synagogue shooting, the October 2023 attacks in Israel and large weather-related disasters.
Teams that chose not to hold a moment of silence did not issue uniform public explanations, and the decision-making authority rested with each franchise under the NFL's guidance. The Ravens, one of the teams reported not to have paused for a tribute, hosted a home game Sunday without an on-field moment prior to kickoff.
Three additional NFL games remain scheduled for this week: the Atlanta Falcons hosting the Minnesota Vikings on Sunday night, the Tampa Bay Buccaneers visiting the Houston Texans, and the Los Angeles Chargers traveling to Las Vegas to face the Raiders on Monday. Whether those clubs will observe tributes will be determined by each organization.
Law enforcement and court proceedings related to the killing are ongoing. Reporting on the NFL’s varied responses reflects the league’s hands-off approach after the initial league-organized tribute and the broader pattern in professional sports of teams deciding individually how to mark national tragedies.