Yahoo Sports Cat adoption center to be named after Tyler Bass following $400K in donations in support of Bills kicker
Social media abuse aimed at Bass following the AFC divisional game led to Bills fans donating in mass.
Ten Lives Club, a cat rescue and adoption group just outside Buffalo, has announced that its new shelter will be named the "Tyler Bass Adoption Center" in honor of the Bills kicker.
What prompted this dedication is the $400,000 in donations Ten Lives Club received in support of Bass, who saw Bills fans rally around him days after his missed field-goal attempt would have tied the AFC divisional game against the Kansas City Chiefs.
The ultimate example of Bills Mafia. ❤️💙
After receiving more than $400,000 in donations, the Tyler Bass Adoption Center is coming soon to @TenLivesClub! pic.twitter.com/QDSktdGyvz— Buffalo Bills (@BuffaloBills) May 28, 2024
In the aftermath of the missed kick, Bass receive threats and abuse on social media. When fans learned about Bass' connection with Ten Lives Club, they called the group wanting to pledge $22 in his name. Within days nearly $30,000 was raised.
Bass was a part of Ten Lives Club's Show Your Soft Side campaign, and while other athletes who were involved chose to support dog shelters, Bass was all about cats.
“When the Show your Soft Side campaign came out, a lot of the athletes wanted to help the dogs, but Tyler said, ‘No, I want to help the cats.’ He’s just a really nice person and we’re really grateful the community is stepping up right now to help our rescue cats,” said Kimberly LaRussa, public relations manager for Ten Lives Club.
After the story went viral, the donations continued to pour in and reached $400,000, enough to help build a new shelter.
"Truly grateful and just feel honored," Bass said in a video posted by the Bills this week. "I have two cats of my own and I love them to death. Hard to put words to it, to be honest with you."
