Ben Roethlisberger took a message to Baltimore on Sunday.
The quarterback commemorated the victims of the Tree of Life synagogue shooting by wearing cleats with “stronger than hate” written on them for the Steelers’ game against the Ravens at M&T Bank Stadium.
Steelers quarterback Ben Roethlisberger wears shoes to honor the #TreeOfLifeSynagogue shooting victims as he warms up to take on the Ravens Sunday at M&T Bank Stadium. #strongerthanhate pic.twitter.com/FclQQLNZYn
— Matt Freed (@mattfreedpghpg) November 4, 2018
The cleats also include the diamonds of the Steelers’ logo, with a Star of David replacing the yellow diamond. It’s a design inspired by local artist Tim Hindes, whose original “stronger than hate” image has circulated widely since the shooting.
Last week, Roethlisberger and teammates attended the funeral of brothers Cecil and David Rosenthal, whose sister, Michele, is the Steelers’ former community relations manager.
The Ravens showed support as well Sunday, posting this tweet before kickoff.
Today, we face the @steelers, but some things are bigger than football. Our thoughts and prayers are with the city of Pittsburgh. pic.twitter.com/yKdDleHXGT
— Baltimore Ravens (@Ravens) November 4, 2018
They also paused to remember those affected by the shooting before kickoff.
Ravens had a moment of silence for the Tree of Life victims and families. Very nice and classy. pic.twitter.com/e2rLkEFSMB
— Gerry Dulac (@gerrydulac) November 4, 2018
The Baltimore Ravens hold a moment of silence for the #TreeofLifeSynogogue shooting victims before their team takes on the Steelers Sunday. pic.twitter.com/gvKRo8pmUa
— Matt Freed (@mattfreedpghpg) November 4, 2018
"First of all, I want to say it was a very class act by the Baltimore Ravens for the moment of silence they had for the victims at the synagogue. We really appreciated it,” Roethlisberger said after the Steelers victory at M&T Bank Stadium.
“I wore those shoes in honor of the victims and to keep everyone's thoughts on them. I always thought love should conquer hate, and we should work together on that."
First Published: November 4, 2018, 5:38 p.m.