Virginia Tech to cancel Spring Game
Just a day after the tragic events on the Virginia Tech campus, the Hokies announced their annual Spring Game will be canceled, along with the three remaining spring practices.
After the horrific killing of 33 VT students and professors, football coach Frank Beamer felt an appropriate amount of time was necessary for the community to grieve.
“There’s things more important than football right now,” Beamer told ESPN.com. “There’s a lot of grieving families here and there’s going to be a lot of grieving families here Saturday. I just thought it was the right thing to do.”
Along with the cancellation of the Spring Game at Lane Field, the school announced the cancellation of today’s softball game against East Tennessee State and the baseball team’s game against William & Mary.
When the teams return to Atlantic Coast Conference play, both teams will resume their normal playing schedules.
Five other athletic events will still play today on campus: men’s and women’s tennis, men’s and women’s outdoor track and field and golf.
Major League Baseball was the first athletic organization to pay homage to the victims of the shooting.
During Tuesday’s game between the Washington Nationals and the Atlanta Braves, the Nationals took the field wearing burgundy Virginia Tech hats to pay tribute to the victims at the school.
Virginia Tech men’s basketball coach Seth Greenberg, former USF coach from 1997-2003, is still trying to comprehend how such a horrific event could have taken place.
“This is the most peaceful, tranquil and safe environment,” Greenberg told ESPN.com. “But this shows that there is nowhere that you’re safe from tragedy or this type of senseless violence. It’s devastating.”
Although the upcoming weeks and months will be difficult for everyone at the school, Beamer will not let the pain of the events on Monday alter his behavior in anyway.
“I think what took place at the end of the ceremony, people wanted to let it out and say, ‘Hey, this one guy’s not going to beat us,'” Beamer said. “We’re hurt, but this one guy’s not going to dictate how we’re going to act.”
Information from the Associated Press was used in this report.