Sports are supposed to be the ultimate distraction for fans from the outside world. The perfect way for people to come together in an age where so many things divide us as a nation.
Then there are days like Monday evening when the lines between sports and news blur together, leaving everyone speechless at the horrors life can sometimes bring.
Shane Tamura, of Las Vegas, shot and killed four people while trying to get to the NFL’s main office at 345 Park Ave. Monday evening before eventually killing himself.
An off-duty New York City police officer, Didarul Islam, was one of the victims shot by Tamura, who the Associated Press noted may have suffered from CTE.
No one from the New York Jets was a part of the shooting. Florham Park, New Jersey, is 35 miles away from league headquarters on Park Avenue, though. That leaves the organization in a state of reflection after the shooting.
It’s something that Jets head coach Aaron Glenn addressed first thing following Tuesday morning’s practice.
Jets Address NFL Office Shooting
Glenn has only been New York’s head coach for a few months, but he has had roots in the tri-state area back to when he was a Pro Bowl cornerback for the Jets during the late 1990s.
On Tuesday, the corner turned head coach gave his thoughts on the senseless acts of violence that took the lives of four people just doing their jobs in the league office.
“I wish it was a better morning. The thing that happened yesterday at the League office, man, just as an organization, our thoughts and prayers go out to all the families,” Glenn said. “It’s always tough to hear things like that, and really to try to stay focused, but you have to, because you have a job to do, but you think about the families that go through that, and it’s tough, it’s tough.”
Glenn and the Jets are not the only team to speak out on the shooting. New York Giants head coach Brian Daboll shared similar sentiments to Glenn as well.
“We all saw what happened there at 345 Park (Avenue). Tragic,” Daboll said. “Our thoughts and prayers are with the people who were affected in that tragedy here with the Giants.”
As details continue to emerge following the tragic attack, the NFL as a league is in mourning. Glenn won’t be the only public figure around the country to speak out on this attack in the coming days.
