Bills Mafia donates $40K to visually impaired charity in honor of 'blind' NFL refs after no-call

The Bills Mafia has struck again.

Buffalo Bills fans made it clear they were not happy with the officiating during the Bills' overtime loss to the Tampa Bay Buccaneers on Sunday by donating to a visually impaired community in honor of "blind" NFL referees. They've raised more than $40,000, according to a social media post from the Visually Impaired Advancement.

The VIA, a non-profit based in Buffalo that helps the visually impaired, started receiving an influx of donations this week in $17, $14 and $31 increments, symbolic of quarterback Josh Allen (No. 17), wide receiver Stefon Diggs (No. 14) and their jersey numbers added together, VIA confirmed to USA TODAY Sports.

"This outcry of support is shocking and amazing. We are just so humbled by Bills Mafia and the City of Good Neighbors," Samantha Burfiend, communications manager for the VIA, said in a statement to USA TODAY Sports on Thursday.

"While we recognize that NFL referees are not visually impaired, $17 makes an impact on VIA to help individuals who are visually impaired," Burfiend added.

It all started when Hunter Schinabeck donated $17 to the organization Monday after officials were "unable to see the blatant pass interference on Stefon Diggs," he wrote on his donation page. Schinabeck was referring to a third-and-2 play late in regulation when Bucs cornerback Carlton Davis made contact with Diggs on a throw to the end zone. A penalty would have set up first-and-goal with 22 seconds remaining.

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For Buffalo fans, Bills Mafia means family, and giving back to others is a way of life

"It is saddening to witness," wrote Schinabeck, who made light of his frustration in his donation submission to VIA, with hopes that "something like this never happens again."

The VIA shared Schinabeck's donation on its Twitter page Tuesday. Twitter user after Twitter user replied "Done." One added, "Brilliant! Donated. Most fun donation ever!"

The Buffalo Mafia raised $18,000 less than 24 hours later, the VIA said on social media. By Wednesday evening, VIA announced on their social media platforms that donations had soared to $40,000.

And counting. Burfiend told USA TODAY Sports Thursday that they are currently processing new donations, which will benefit the visually impaired in Western New York.

"This money will go toward education, vision rehabilitation, job training, job placement, and support for people of all ages," Burfiend said.

Schinabeck originally said his donation was a "small step in… fighting blindness," but on Wednesday, following the flood of charitable acts, he took to Instagram in disbelief.

"It has absolutely snow balled into something much greater than I could imagine," he wrote.

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The Bills' fans are among the most gracious in the NFL, often giving back to the community and to charitable causes championed by Bills players and even players from opposing teams.

When the Cincinnati Bengals won a late-season game in 2017 that helped the Bills sneak into the playoffs for the first time in 17 years, Bills fans poured $415,000 into Bengals quarterback Andy Dalton's foundation for seriously ill children. In return, the Dalton family donated to the pediatric department of Buffalo's Roswell Park Comprehensive Cancer Center.

When Baltimore quarterback Lamar Jackson was unable to finish a playoff game last season in Buffalo, Bills fans donated nearly half a million dollars in his honor to the Louisville chapter of Blessings in a Backpack.

And Bills quarterback Josh Allen lost his grandmother in 2019, fans donated more than $1.4 million to John R. Oishei Children’s Hospital in Buffalo, leading to the Patricia Allen Pediatric Recovery Wing on the hospital’s 10th floor, which was unveiled last month.

Contributing: Safid Deen

This article originally appeared on USA TODAY: Bills Mafia donates $40K to visually impaired in honor of NFL refs