Rams cancel media availability amidst ongoing California wildfires

The wildfires currently ravaging Los Angeles have impacted millions in the area. And the Los Angeles Rams, who were set to host the Minnesota Vikings in a home playoff game on Monday night at SoFi Stadium, are no exception.

On Thursday, the Rams hosted their scheduled team practice at their team facility in Woodland Hills, where smoke could be seen from the Kenneth Fire that had just started.

Before the practice started, Rams head coach Sean McVay spoke with reporters and started by offering his thoughts and prayers to everyone affected by the fires. He did detail that no players or coaches have been impacted directly by any form of injury due to the fires.

“Obviously, our thoughts and prayers are with everybody that’s been affected by these fires,” said McVay. “It’s one of those deals that almost doesn’t feel real. But it certainly is real to the people who have been affected. You just see the people who are affected and it’s one of those deals that gives you perspective. Hopefully, we’ll get this stuff under control. It’s been a unique week.

“Fortunately for us, there have been some people who have been affected in terms of power outages. Recommended evacuations. Some of our staff members have had their homes affected. But to my knowledge, fortunately, nobody has been injured. For that, we’re grateful.”

“Our thoughts and prayers are with everybody that’s been affected by these fires.” -HC Sean McVay pic.twitter.com/sVYxeDgdCC

— Los Angeles Rams (@RamsNFL) January 9, 2025

Rams players were scheduled to speak with reporters after the practice. But instead, the Rams organization opted to cancel the planned media availability to “let everybody get home quickly”, according to Rams beat reporter Greg Beacham.

The Rams have canceled their player media availability after today’s practice to let everybody get home quickly.

There’s a new fire in West Hills, and while it’s still small, a lot of players & coaches live in that general area.

— Greg Beacham (@gregbeacham) January 9, 2025

Obviously, some things are far more important than football. And the Rams organization making sure reporters, coaches, and players can get home to their families safely amidst these fires certainly qualifies as exactly that.

All week, it has been suspected that the scheduled postseason matchup would potentially be moved due to the fires. And shortly after the Rams practice, that decision was indeed made, with the game now being played in Arizona.

It has to be difficult for everyone within the Rams’ organization to focus much on playing in a playoff football game in a few days considering the devastation these fires have done in Southern California. Regardless, the date of the game was not moved. So it will sure be interesting to see how the Rams look against the Vikings on Monday Night Football with their postseason lives on the line.