VIDEO/PHOTOS: Pittsburgh Steelers Honor Synagogue Massacre Victims With Logo, Moment of Silence

The Pittsburgh Steelers football team held a moment of silence before their game Sunday against the Cleveland Browns, to honor the victims of the Shabbos morning massacre at Tree of Life Synagogue.

A design based on the Steelers’ helmet logo — inserting a Star of David and added the words, “Stronger than hate” — was widely shared on the internet and was displayed at Heinz Field during the game.One child in the stands wore that new symbol as a patch on his jersey.

NFL games in various other cities also held moments of silence before their games.

Steelers hold moment of silence for Pittsburgh synagogue shooting victimspic.twitter.com/8D3qrNqQaR

— Breaking911 (@Breaking911) October 28, 2018

Eight men and three women were killed by a gunman inside the Tree of Life Synagogue during services on Saturday.
Mayor Bill Peduto called it the “darkest day of Pittsburgh’s history.”

In a statement issued before his team’s game, Steelers owner Art Rooney II said: “Our hearts are heavy, but we must stand against anti-Semitism and hate crimes of any nature and come together to preserve our values and our community.”

A moment of silence for victims of the #PittsburghSynagogue shooting.

(@steelers @Browns @WDBJ7Sports @CBSSports) pic.twitter.com/YuII7CZnsE

— Caslee Sims Jr. (@theyknowSims_) October 28, 2018

“We’re thankful for a victory, but we also understand that there are bigger things,” Steelers’ quarterback Ben Roethlisberger said after the 33-18 win.

“There’s life. I’m glad that we could give people maybe three hours of a break of maybe not thinking about it all the time, and that’s what sports does sometimes is it helps you to kind of heal. But it’s over and people are going to celebrate and enjoy this, but reality still sets in for a lot of people.”

The shooting was felt by all Pittsburghers, and was close to the Steelers. Michele Rosenthal, the team’s former community relations manager, had two brothers, Cecil and David, killed in the attack.

“We love you Michelle and we’re thinking about you,” said Roethlisberger, who was not surprised to the city pull together. “I know the Boston Strong thing, but it’s true everywhere. That’s what Pittsburghers are. We’re family. There’s so much love here in this town — for the sports, for each other, for all the different races, ethnicities, religions and everything we have.”

“Today was much bigger than a game of football,” said Steelers’ running back James Conner, who played at Pitt before joining the Steelers and ran for 146 yards Sunday. “It was good that we got the win to try and uplift some spirits and vibes of everybody in our city. It’s really a tragedy. Our city took a hit and our hearts are with all of the victims and their families. We still have those in mind.”

Pittsburgh Steelers fans sit behind a banner with a Star of David before the team's game against the Cleveland Browns (📸: Don Wright/AP) pic.twitter.com/ioR4gdGHL6

— BuzzFeed News (@BuzzFeedNews) October 28, 2018

Prior to kickoff at @heinzfield, we observe a moment of silence for the victims and their families following the tragedy at the Tree of Life Synagogue in Squirrel Hill yesterday.

— Pittsburgh Steelers (@steelers) October 28, 2018

Our city. ❤️ pic.twitter.com/tLKIHliz6l

— Pittsburgh Steelers (@steelers) October 28, 2018

Our hearts break at the news of this morning’s tragedy in the Squirrel Hill area of Pittsburgh. Our thoughts and prayers are with all of those affected by this horrible event.

— Pirates (@Pirates) October 27, 2018