Virginia Holds Pre-Game Ceremony to Honor Players Killed by Shooting in 2022

Sportsmanship is the name of the game. There is no true sport without mutual respect for all competitors in the race. This idea was exemplified by the students of the University of Virginia today as they held a pregame ceremony to honor three football players. The players – Devin Chandler, Lavel Davis Jr., and D’Sean Perry – had been shot and killed while returning from a school field trip in November.

The families of the victims stood in solidarity on the sidelines during the ceremony. The pre-game program came right before the first game that the Cavaliers played on home soil since the attack on the three students. In fact, the team canceled its last two games of 2022 following the shocking tragic incident.

Pre-Game ceremony to honor the victims

The pre-game ceremony included a video tribute as well as revealed two enduring memorials inside Scott Stadium. It highlighted the accomplishments of the students while also paying homage to their legacies. Once the video tribute ended, the stadium honored the players by installing plaques for each player at Virginia’s Legends’ Walk. The plaques displayed each player’s number—Nos. 1, 15, and 41—inside diamonds on the south end of the field.

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While the three players were shot to death, two others fortunately survived the attack. Running back Mike Hollins, who was one of two players to survive, participated in the celebration of his fallen brothers. He led his team onto the field in the lead-up to the game while hoisting the “Virginia Strong” flag. He also represented his team during the coin toss with his parents alongside the relatives of Davis, Perry, and Chandler.

On what would have surely been an emotional day for him, Hollins gave UVA its second score of the day with a four-yard touchdown run in the second quarter. While things went down to the wire, UVA could not manage the victory, with the Dukes clinching the 36-35 win with 55 seconds to go.

Aftermath of The Match

Cavaliers head coach Tony Elliott commended his team’s efforts while also giving a special mention to the three late players. “This one hurts, and it’s going to hurt for a while,” he added. He said he was satisfied with his team’s standard of play even if it didn’t particularly reflect on the scoreboard, adding that a loss always hurts. “There’s a lot of young people in that locker room that are hurting and it’s my job to teach them how to process that hurt,” Elliot said.

This heartfelt tribute comes in the same week as a new aggravated murder indictment from a special grand jury released on Christopher Darnell Jones Jr. in the killing of the three players. Sources claim that Jones, the former UVA student who was charged in the shootings, could be looking at a life sentence if he is convicted.