NFL To Hold Moment Of Silence For Vegas Victims During 'Monday Night Football'

ESPN has announced that it will air the national anthem and moment of silence, diverging from the network's previous plans.
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The NFL plans to honor the victims of the deadly shooting in Las Vegas, Nevada, by holding a moment of silence before the “Monday Night Football” game between the Washington Redskins and the Kansas City Chiefs. The teams are set to play in Arrowhead stadium in Kansas City, Missouri.

“The Commissioner has asked that there be an on-field moment of silence for Las Vegas before tonight’s game,” The NFL Commissioner’s office told HuffPost. “This will be a moment of reflection for the victims, their families and loved ones and also for the heroic efforts of the first responders.”

In the wake of the tragic shooting during an outdoor concert in Las Vegas that left more than 50 people dead and hundreds injured, ESPN announced the network will air the national anthem as well as the moment of silence.

Sports Illustrated reporter Richard Deitsch first reported the news on Twitter.

Though there was no official statement, a rep for ESPN confirmed to HuffPost that the anthem would air.

The network had previously announced it would no longer be airing the national anthem before games in order to devote more on-air time to game coverage.

According to The Washington Post, ESPN has aired the anthem twice this season: once before the “MNF” premiere, which fell on the anniversary of the Sept. 11 attacks, and again last Monday, amid protests against President Donald Trump’s criticism of players kneeling during the national anthem.

The NFL’s television partners, including Fox Sports, NBC Sports, CBS Sports, NFL Network and DirecTV all provided live coverage of that week’s anthem, according to Yahoo. Fox Sports announced Sunday that the network would no longer air the national anthem before football games after last week’s coverage.

Some teams are taking additional action in response to the Las Vegas tragedy.

The Oakland Raiders have donated $50,000 to those affected by the shooting. The team, which will eventually be relocating to Vegas, confirmed the donation to SFGate.

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