The Texans have also made donations to the school’s memorial fund, and wore helmet stickers reading “Uvalde Strong.”
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The Texans have been among the many groups and organizations to offer support for the Uvalde community in the aftermath of the May 24 mass shooting that killed 21 people, including 19 children, at Robb Elementary School. Ahead of their season opener against the Colts, the team took things a step further by hosting the Uvalde High School football team at the facility.
Uvalde coach Wade Miller and his team made a four-hour drive to the Texans facilities for Sunday’s game, and were hosted in a suite at NRG Stadium. The gesture came after Texans coach Lovie Smith and two players visited Uvalde earlier this month, surprising the team with new uniforms.
“We have a lot of fans of a bunch of different [NFL] teams on our team, but we’re all Texans fans now,” Miller said, per Matt Young of the Houston Chronicle. “We talked about it in the bus on the way up here, y’all have converted us.”
Texans players also sported “Uvalde Strong” stickers on their helmets for the game. In June, the players pooled together money for a donation to the Robb School Memorial Fund, coming up with $200,000 that was matched by team chairman and CEO Cal McNair and his wife Hannah.
“I’m gonna be totally honest, I’m a 49ers fan, but it’s just been amazing and wonderful what the Texans and the whole city of Houston have done for us,” Uvalde team captain Justyn Rendon said. “I’m blessed and so are the other guys.”
