'Bigger Than Football': Texans Express Thoughts on Astroworld Music Tragedy

MIAMI GARDENS, Fla. – During the Texans’ practice Friday morning, a sound check for rapper Travis Scott’s Astroworld music festival blared loud music while players and coaches prepared for Sunday’s road game against the Miami Dolphins.

By Friday night, several hours later, a massive tragedy unfolded in Houston. In one of the deadliest concerts in United States history, eight young people died during a crowd surge of 50,000 fans at the concert while Scott was performing on stage.

The Texans paid their respects following a 17-9 loss Sunday to the Dolphins at Hard Rock Stadium, offering their condolences and prayers afterward to the families impacted by the chaos that unfolded by NRG Park near NRG Stadium.

“I know something bigger than football happened back in our Houston community this past Friday at the festival,” quarterback Tyrod Taylor said. “I wanted to the let the city of Houston know that our organization, our team, our prayers are definitely with you all. You never want to see a loss of life. Our prayers are definitely with you.”

Texans coach David Culley and other players expressed similar sentiments about the mass casualty that prompted officials to cancel the second day of the festival Saturday.

“I just want to extend our condolences, the Texans, for the tragedy that happened at Astroworld,” Culley said. “I just want to say sorry for everybody involved.”

What happened hit home for the players, including defensive end Jordan Jenkins.

Jenkins was extremely emotional after the game because his father, Ronald Jenkins, is dealing with a personal health situation. Jenkins broke into tears during his press conference.

“I was something my dad was fighting through and he’s known about it for a couple of months,” Jenkins said. “He’s stayed strong throughout that whole time and never told any of us throughout that time. It was an inspiring thing for me that he held that this whole time. If he can fight like that, I can fight even harder on the field.”