Texas' Major League Soccer teams, including one owned by brothers who lost a family member in the July Fourth floods in Central Texas, stepped up with a half-million-dollar donation to help relief and recovery efforts to help victims.
FC Dallas, a soccer club that held a moment of silence for the victims during its annual Fourth of July game, along with Austin FC, Houston Dynamo FC and MLS committed $500,000 to disaster response and long-term trauma care. Combined with other professional sports teams in Texas and their respective leagues, more than $5 million has been donated to the relief efforts.
FC Dallas Chairman and CEO Clark Hunt, whose 9-year-old niece, Janie Hunt, was among at least 120 people who were killed during the tragic flood in Central Texas, said his family is devastated.
“This has shaken our community to its core," Hunt said in a statement. “Our hearts go out to those grieving – in particular, to the parents who lost children, those who lost family members, and the far-too-many who have lost friends, neighbors and loved ones."
FC Dallas President Dan Hunt, Clark Hunt's brother, said, in a statement, "We are grieving alongside the families and communities who are living through the unimaginable right now."
Damage from the Hill Country floods could top $20 billion, as CoStar News reported. NBC News reports that as of Thursday morning, there are at least 173 people still missing from the Central Texas floods.
The NFL's Dallas Cowboys, Houston Texans and the NFL Foundation collectively donated $1.5 million to the relief effort. The NBA's Dallas Mavericks, Houston Rockets and San Antonio Spurs, along with the NBA Foundation and the National Basketball Players Association contributed over $2 million. Major League Baseball's Houston Astros and Texas Rangers each pledged $1 million to aid in flood relief efforts.