The Baltimore Ravens announced Tuesday that they have canceled their draft party event, scheduled for Thursday night at M&T Bank Stadium, "out of respect to the curfew in Baltimore."
The cancellation comes amid safety concerns in Baltimore, where riots have broken out following the funeral of Freddie Gray, who died April 19 after suffering a severe spinal injury in police custody.
Former Ravens linebacker Ray Lewis took to Twitter to urge protesters to stop the violence.
#Violence is not the answer. We must have #peace in our #city, we are a city that's built on #Believing in each other. #BaltimoreRiots
— Ray Lewis (@raylewis) April 28, 2015We must come together,we can stop the violence as a #community.These kids have to have real leaders,we need everybody to join this #movement
— Ray Lewis (@raylewis) April 28, 2015Meanwhile, the Orioles postponed Monday's and Tuesday's home games versus the Chicago White Sox after consultation with Major League Baseball and Maryland and Baltimore officials.