Bills' Micah Hyde to Donate Part of Charity Softball Game Funds to Shooting Victims
May 15, 2022
Buffalo Bills safety Micah Hyde announced Sunday that he will donate a portion of the proceeds from his charity softball game to the families of victims from Saturday's shooting at a supermarket in Buffalo, New York.
Thirteen people were shot—10 of whom died—when a man opened fire at Tops Friendly Market. Payton Gendron was taken into custody and charged with first-degree murder.
"I still can't believe it," Hyde said of the shooting, per ESPN's Alaina Getzenberg. "But when there's hate in the world, you kind of erase it with love, and coming out here today and showing the community love and love to the youth, love to the community, love to the foundation. I guess that's the way to combat it."
Per Getzenberg, Hyde weighed whether to stage Sunday's event in the wake of the shooting. He went ahead with the game, which drew a crowd of 10,000 at Sahlen Field, home of the Triple-A Buffalo Bisons.
Bills star Josh Allen was among Hyde's teammates to take part in the occasion. The 2020 Pro Bowler said he was "sick to my stomach all day yesterday," adding the Bills players are likely to discuss more ways to provide aid when they gather Monday at the team facility:
According to the Buffalo News' Mark Gaughan, Hyde's I'MagINe For Youth Foundation received a $200,000 check from the sponsors for his charity game.
Hyde reflected on how much the event has grown after having failed to hit 2,000 fans for the first iteration. He said he was aware that 8,000 tickets had been sold earlier this week and that the attendance was only growing.
"That's Buffalo. You can go anywhere in this nation, and I don't think you'll find a better community than Buffalo, and I honestly mean that," Hyde said.
Ahead of his sixth season with the Bills, he went on to call Buffalo "home to me."