The Rockets canceled their planned ‘Travis Scott Night’ promotion that was slated for Wednesday night’s game against the Detroit Pistons but was canned following the death of eight concert goers at Scott’s annual ‘Astroworld Festival' held at NRG Park last weekend.
Instead, the Rockets held a moment of silence prior to the start of the game to honor the victims of the tragedy. Rockets president of business operations Gretchen Sheifrr spoke to the Houston Chronicle regarding the decision that was made by the franchise to postpone the event.
"After what was a horrific tragedy last week, we felt it would have been insensitive and not the right time for us to move forward," Sheirr said. "Tonight, we'll honor victims with a moment of silence to help our community heal."
The people who died at Scott's festival range from the ages of 14 to 27-years-old. A total of 50,000 people attended the sold-out music festival and rushed towards the stage once Scott started performing, causing a huge crash of people being trampled over and passing out. As one concertgoer described to CNN, ‘all hell broke loose,' once the 30-year-old rapper was set to take the stage.
"Once (Scott) started performing, all hell broke loose," Alexis Guavin, who attended the concert, told CNN. "All of what is to be 50,000 people ran to the front, compressing everyone together with the little air available. There were moshpits in every direction."
The Rockets did their best to honor the victims with a win but came up short losing 112-104 in what was the first matchup between the No. 1 and 2 picks in the 2021 NBA draft, Jalen Green and Cade Cunningham.
The Houston rapper is facing a ton of backlash for the role he played, especially for continuing his performance despite the raucous scene.
Over 300 people were hospitalized and treated for injuries they sustained at Astroworld. Scott apologized for what happened and says he will cover all the funeral costs and one month of mental health services for anyone that was affected.
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