NFL Holds Moment Of Silence For Israel-Palestine Conflict, But They're A Week Late: Amber Harding

One week after Hamas terrorists slaughtered hundreds of innocent Israelis in a surprise attack, the NFL has decided to acknowledge the devastation. The league announced it would hold moments of silence before the Week 6 games to honor the victims.

We saw the first of the tributes Thursday night before the Kansas City Chiefs hosted the Denver Broncos. And announcers echoed the same sentiments in Sunday morning's London game between the Tennessee Titans and Baltimore Ravens.

"This past week, we witnessed a horrific attack in Israel. We mourn the lives lost in the massacre, including many Americans," the statement read. "And we pray for innocent civilians in the Middle East, who continue to be in harm's way."

So the NFL is acknowledging both the Israelis and Palestinians who have lost their lives in the ongoing conflict. And it's almost as if they waited for Israel's retaliation so they didn't have to take sides.

Israel, of course, is conducting massive military operations in Gaza after Hamas terrorists murdered more than 1,200 Israelis and kidnapped roughly 150 people to hold as hostages.

But why did the NFL wait an entire week after the attacks to hold a moment of silence? Why didn't the league condemn the barbaric acts of terrorism last week?

No Moment Of Silence For Initial Attacks

In the early morning of Oct. 7, Hamas launched a multi-pronged surprise ambush on the people of Israel. The terrorists came into Israel territory and killed innocent civilians, murdered women and children, paraded bodies of victims down the street, and took civilians as hostages back to Gaza.

And on Oct. 8, 12 NFL games kicked off without a mention of any of it.

Did they not know enough to form an opinion? Of course they did. The terrorists came into Israeli territory, killed innocent civilians, murdered children and babies and paraded bodies of dead women down the street. We all saw it.

Granted, the league did release a statement on Monday, Oct. 9, mourning the innocent lives lost in Israel. But it didn't take a firm stand in support of Israel, either.

Still, the statement was met with backlash from thousands of Pro-Palestinian supporters attempting to justify the heinous attacks.

And after hearing the carefully-worded, fence-sitting statement before this week's moment of silence, it sure seems as though the NFL is trying to please both sides.

Let's be clear: The loss of any innocent life is devastating.

But to equate the intentional slaughtering of citizens at the hands of Hamas to the calculated counter-attack from Israel is entirely disingenuous. As my colleague David Hookstead pointed out, "There's no moral equivalency to be made. One side hides behind women and children. The other side tries its best to protect them."

There's no neutrality here. And the NFL needs to make it clear which side it's on.

Follow Amber on X at @TheAmberHarding or email her at Amber.Harding@OutKick.com.