What’s the story?WWE Universal Champion, Kevin Owens wore a purple armband adorned with a white fleur-de-lis during the most recent episode of Raw.
In case you didn’t know...Kevin Owens was born in Saint-Jean-sur-Richelieu, Quebec, Canada and raised in Marieville, Quebec, Canada.
The heart of the matterKevin Owens and Sami Zayn both wore purple armbands on Raw this past Monday night. The reason for the armbands to pay tribute to the victims of the Quebec City mosque shooting that occurred this past Sunday night, shortly after Owens’ match at the Royal Rumble and before the Rumble match that Sami Zayn was a participant in.
The shooting was condemned by Canadian Prime Minister, Justin Trudeau, who called the shooting, “a terrorist attack on Muslims.” He then spoke to the more than one million Muslims who live in Canada, saying, “We are with you.”
The shooting brought the death of six men who were praying at the mosque, ranging from age 39 to age 60. As of writing, two remained in critical condition and 17 others were treated for injuries received in the attack.
Kevin Owens sent out several tweets Sunday night, just after finding out about the tragedy. The tweets were written in French but loosely translate to, “I have just learned what happened in Sainte-Foy. I am absolutely disgusted. I don’t really know what else to say. My thoughts are with the families of the victims and with Quebec in full. My heart is empty at the moment. Take care of each other. Ignorance and intolerance have no place here. We are over that and we need to stay that way. Talk to your children.”
A tweet on Tuesday morning read, “Nous sommes plus fortes ensemble,” (We are stronger together) with a picture of the armbands that he and Zayn wore on Raw.
What’s next?The suspect in the shooting has been charged with six counts of murder. He did not enter a plea when he appeared in court on Monday.
Sportskeeda’s Take
Neither Kevin Owens or Sami Zayn were directly affected by the shooting that we are aware of, but both chose to show solidarity in honour of the victims of the shooting that occurred in their home province (Sami is from Montreal). These men didn’t have to go the extra mile to show support for the victims of this tragedy, but they had the WWE costume department make the armbands for them to wear during the Raw television broadcast.
Both men, who are real-life best friends, have expressed in the past how proud they are of their Canadian heritage, and by all accounts, both men are genuinely good people.
We here at Sportskeeda send out our thoughts to the families of the victims of this terrible tragedy.
Send us news tips at [email protected]
Do you love to play crosswords, Wordle or other exciting games? We'd like to connect with you. Fill the form here!
