Like so many other former and current Bills, Hall of Fame wide receiver Andre Reed watched in horror as reports of a hideous mass murder by an alleged white supremacist in Buffalo dominated his TV screen on May 14.
Two weeks later, he apologized for not coming to the scene like many of his teammates to provide moral and financial support for the permanently wounded community, but vowed he will do his part eventually.
In the meantime, he had a message for the families and friends of the victims.
"We know you're hurting, we know you're in pain," he told Casey Bortnick of Spectrum News 1. "But remember family, friends. They're very important, and they're going to get you through this. And it's been shown already in the past week there in Buffalo, and it's going to be shown in Texas too. And it was shown here in California at a church.
"So we stick together. We grieve and we cover those that need it the most. We move on and then we try to do something about it. You know, as a former player there I know a lot of people in Buffalo over the years, and they supported me. And it's my duty now to support them."
Reed is from Allentown, Pa. and lives in San Diego now, but has always regarded Buffalo as his second home because he spent 15 seasons playing for the Bills on his way to Canton.
He will eventually find time to visit and the money to support the community.
"I'm still a part of Buffalo, even though I don't live there," Reed said. "I apologize that I couldn't be there because of my [charity] golf tournament, living out here on the West Coast. I couldn't get there in time. I will be doing something during the season to see the families, and my foundation will be a part of donating to victims' funds."
Reed called it his duty.
"The Buffalo people have always been great to me," he said. "... They're the salt of the earth, and for this to happen in their community. I feel like it's my community too. We all come together. And that's what really Americans are about: We come together and we try to comfort people that are hurting right now. Buffalo's a hurting city right now. So that's that's what these communities need right now."
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