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Fans raise $260,000 for cat adoption charity in honor of Buffalo Bills kicker Tyler Bass, following missed field goal
Football fans and beyond are stepping up for Buffalo Bills player Tyler Bass after he missed a pivotal field goal during the team’s playoff loss against the Kansas City Chiefs, which led to the kicker getting a lot of online hate for it.
More than $260,000 was raised for the Ten Lives Club, a New York-based cat adoption group Bass endorsed in the past, a spokesperson for the nonprofit told CBS News on Wednesday.
Ten Lives Club’s Kimberly LaRussa said the donations have poured in from football fans from all over, and even TV personality Rachael Ray and pet food brand Nutrish together gave $30,000. While Bass deactivated his social media accounts after the loss, the group defended him on social media, posting,”DON’T BULLY OUR FRIEND.”
“We were all so sad when we heard Tyler was receiving hate because he doesn’t deserve that,” LaRussa told CBS News. “Yes, he’s an athlete and people are very passionate about football but he’s also a person… and a great one at that. We just wanted to show support for him like he showed our rescue cats support.”
LaRussa said their group first met Bass through the Show Our Softside, a nonprofit that works with athletes and aims to prevent animal abuse. He met with their rescue kittens and participated in a photo shoot with them, according to LaRussa. A photo of him with the kittens hangs in their shelter lobby, she said.
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On Sunday, with less than two minutes left, Bass missed a 44-yard field goal attempt during the AFC divisional playoff game that could have tied the score. Instead, the game’s result cut the Bills’ postseason dreams short and the kick drew comparisons to a similar missed field goal attempt etched in the minds of Buffalo fans –the dreaded miss from Scott Norwood during Super Bowl XXV.
But LaRussa told CBS News she hopes Bass can see “how much he is supported and loved and the incredible impact he’s making for our rescue cats.”
Buffalo Bills fans have opened their wallets in the past to show their appreciation. Many donated to Baltimore Ravens quarterback Lamar Jackson’s charity after he got hurt in a playoff game against the Bills. In 2018, fans donated to then-Cincinnati Bengals quarterback Andy Dalton’s foundation after he threw a winning touchdown pass that allowed the Bills to snap their 17-year playoff drought.
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NEW YORK — Former New York Gov. David Paterson and his stepson were attacked in New York City on Friday night, authorities said.
The incident occurred just before 9 p.m. on Second Avenue near East 96th Street on the Upper East Side, according to the New York City Police Department.
Police said officers were sent to the scene after an assault was reported. When officers arrived, police say they found a 20-year-old man suffering from facial injuries and a 70-year-old man who had head pain. Both victims were taken to a local hospital in stable condition.
In a statement, a spokesperson for the former governor said the two were attacked while “taking a walk around the block near their home by some individuals that had a previous interaction with his stepson.”
The spokesperson said that they were injured “but were able to fight off their attackers.”
Both were taken to Cornell Hospital “as a precaution,” he added.
Police said no arrests have been made and the investigation is ongoing.
The 70-year-old Paterson, a Democrat, served as governor from 2008 to 2010, stepping into the post after the resignation of Eliot Spitzer following his prostitution scandal. He made history at the time as the state’s first-ever Black and legally blind governor.
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A 17-year-old boy was critically injured and a person is in custody after a gunman opened fire on a SEPTA bus in North Philadelphia Friday evening, police said.
At around 6:15 p.m., Philadelphia police were notified about a shooting on a SEPTA bus traveling on Allegheny Avenue near 3rd and 4th streets in North Philadelphia, Inspector D F Pace told CBS News Philadelphia.
There were an estimated 30 people on the bus at the time of the shooting, Pace said, but only the 17-year-old boy was believed to have been shot. Investigators said they believe it was a targeted attack on the teenager and that he was shot in the back of the bus at close range.
According to Pace, the SEPTA bus driver alerted a control center about the shooting, which then relayed the message to Philadelphia police, who responded to the scene shortly.
Officers arrived at the scene and found at least one spent shell casing and blood on the bus, but no shooting victim, Pace said. Investigators later discovered the 17-year-old had been taken to Temple University Hospital where he is said to be in critical condition, according to police.
CBS Philadelphia
Through their preliminary investigation, police learned those involved in the SEPTA shooting may have fled in a silver-colored Kia.
Authorities then found a car matching the description of the Kia speeding in the area and a pursuit began, Pace said. Police got help from a PPD helicopter as they followed the Kia, which ended up crashing at 5th and Greenwood streets in East Mount Airy. Pace said the Kia crashed into a parked car.
The driver of the crashed car ran away but police were still able to take them into custody, Pace said.
Investigators believe there was a second person involved in the shooting who ran from the car before it crashed. Police said they believe this person escaped near Allegheny Avenue and 4th Street, leaving a coat behind.
According to Pace, police also found a gun and a group of spent shell casings believed to be involved in the shooting in the same area.
“It’s very possible that there may have been a shooting inside the bus and also shots fired from outside of the bus toward the bus,” Pace said, “We’re still trying to piece all that together at this time.”
This is an active investigation and police are reviewing surveillance footage from the SEPTA bus.