NFL Conducts Moment Of Silent Reflection For Charlie Kirk At Lambeau Field
League condemns violence following conservative founder's shooting at Utah Valley University
The NFL got it right this time.
The league's first game since the reprehensible assassination of Charlie Kirk on Wednesday is being played now between the Green Bay Packers and Washington Commanders, and about 20 minutes before kickoff the league honored Kirk.
NFL Pauses To Remember Kirk
The league conducted a moment of silent reflection for the conservative founder of Turning Point USA, who was killed on the campus of Utah Valley University on Wednesday.
"The National Football League asks that you please join us in a moment of silent reflection following the murder of Charlie Kirk," Lambeau Field public address announcer Bill Jartz boomed across the facility. "The NFL condemns all violence in our communities. It will take all of us to stop hate."
And aside from this being the right thing to do, it's a good thing to do.
It might feel like a small gesture, but it is meaningful because it sends multiple messages.
GREEN BAY, Wisc. - Fans hold up a September 11 memorial flag before the game between the Washington Commanders and the Green Bay Packers at Lambeau Field on Sept. 11, 2025. Photo: Jeff Hanisch-Imagn Images
NFL Not Playing Political Favorites
First, it says the NFL is not playing political favorites in condemning some violent acts on one side of the political aisle but not the other.
The league in 2020 went to extremes to send messages of condemnation over the murder of George Floyd. And now this balances the scales, although, obviously, no one would wish either opportunity existed in the first place.
This also represents the NFL's first comments on the Kirk murder. It had previously remained silent on the matter through the evening Wednesday and throughout the day on Thursday.
But as fans pulled up to Lambeau Field on Thursday they might have seen that flags were flying at half-staff as President Trump had ordered.
Charlie Kirk poses at The Cambridge Union on May 19, 2025 in Cambridge, Cambridgeshire. (Photo by Nordin Catic/Getty Images for The Cambridge Union)
NFL Employees On Notice
Third, the NFL is telling its employees, at least one of whom said some pretty despicable stuff and got fired for it, where it stands.
It's not OK for NFL employees to dismiss the violence visited upon Kirk as earned or warranted.
It is not OK for NFL employees to cheer on the assassination because they disagree with Kirk.
The league, pausing and remembering Kirk before this Thursday Night game, sent those messages.
Well done.