Division rivals on the field, partners and champions for a good cause off it.
While the sports world has come out in support of the mourning families and in opposition to gun violence around the country, the Yankees and Rays took it a step further Thursday.
Rather than use their social media platforms for game coverage, updates and highlights for their matchup, the organizations used their massive platforms to share statistics on gun violence in America, hoping to bring more attention to one of the country's more devastating epidemics.
— New York Yankees (@Yankees) May 26, 2022
In lieu of game coverage and in collaboration with @Yankees, we will use our channels to offer facts about the impacts of gun violence.
— Tampa Bay Rays (@RaysBaseball) May 26, 2022
The devastating events that took place in Uvalde, Buffalo and countless other communities across our nation are tragedies that are intolerable.
Eighteen children and three adults were killed in a mass shooting at Robb Elementary School in Uvalde, Texas, on May 24. Texas Gov. Greg Abbott confirmed the deaths, as well as the death of the shooter, an 18-year-old male.
MORE: Warriors' Steve Kerr gives impassioned speech after Uvalde
The Rays also acknowledged those who lost their lives in the May 14 shootings in Buffalo, N.Y., where 10 people were shot and killed in a supermarket.
The teams' Twitter accounts began posting stats at 7 p.m. ET. The Yankees and Rays opened a series at Tropicana Field in St. Petersburg roughly 20 minutes earlier.
Earlier in the day, the Rays announced that they were donating $50,000 in support of Everytown for Gun Safety's Support Fund.
Firearms were the leading cause of death for American children and teens in 2020.
— Tampa Bay Rays (@RaysBaseball) May 26, 2022
