NFL
By: Zachary Draves
Golden State Warriors Head Coach Steve Kerr has always been passionate about speaking truth to power on pressing social issues particularly gun violence.
During a pregame press conference before Game 4 of the Western Conference Finals, Kerr expressed his despair at hearing the news of the mass shooting at Robb Elementary School in Uvalde, Texas that killed at least nineteen students and two teachers. This comes after a week of shootings that included the racist attack at a Buffalo grocery store that killed ten people. There was also the shooting at a church in Laguna Woods, California that killed one Taiwanese American.
Kerr let it be known that he wasn’t there to talk basketball as he slammed the table and raised his voice to say what needed to be said.
“I ask you, Mitch McConnell, and ask all you senators who refuse to do anything about the violence, the school shootings, the supermarket shootings, I ask you, ‘Are you going to put your own desire for power ahead of the lives of our children, our elderly and our churchgoers?’ Because that’s what it looks like. That’s what we do every week. I’m fed up. I’ve had enough.”
“Do you realize 90 percent of Americans, regardless of political party, want universal background checks? We’re being held hostage by 50 senators in Washington who refuse to even put it to a vote, despite what we the American people want. They won’t vote on it, because they want to hold onto their own power. It’s pathetic. I’ve had enough.”
“I’m tired. I am so tired of getting up here and offering condolences to the devastated families that are out there. I am so tired of the, excuse, I am sorry, I am tired of the moments of silence. Enough!”
Nobody could have said it better. Kerr has a personal stake in this because he lost both his father and coach to gun violence. His father was shot and killed in Beirut in 1984. His coach at Arizona Ricky Byrdsong was murdered by a white supremacist in 1999.
Steph Curry and LeBron James, who also have been known to speak their mind on issues, retweeted the video of Kerr’s press conference that is garnering attention well beyond the world of sports. Lawmakers and advocates shared the video as well.
The fact is we live in a country where gun violence is an ongoing public health crisis.
According to Everytown for Gun Safety, “every day, more than 110 people in the United States are killed with guns and more than 200 are shot and wounded. The gun homicide rate in the U.S. is 25 times higher than that of other developed countries.”
In addition, “firearms are the leading cause of death for children and teens (ages 1 to 19) in the United States. Every year, 18,000 children and teens are shot and killed or wounded and approximately 3 million are exposed to gun violence.”
It is becoming more evident that we are so numb to these numbers that whenever a mass shooting occurs, we engage in a routine cycle of thoughts and prayers, debate, and no action.
How is it that we let third and fourth graders be murdered in their school and we don’t take every kind of measure to prevent it from happening again?
Many thought after the horrific massacre at Sandy Hook Elementary School in 2012 that killed 20 children and 6 teachers would be enough for action, but it wasn’t the case. After the Parkland shooting in 2018 when young people mobilized in Washington DC demanding action, they were met with lip service. It seems as if lawmakers are preoccupied with the phantom boogeymen of masks, critical race theory and LGBTQ+ books than they are with protecting children from what actually harms them.
The righteous indignation that Steve Kerr expressed is how we should all feel. We cannot let this become routine. America is supposed to be the land of freedom and refuge especially for those who are vulnerable. Clearly, we are failing in that premise.
The sports world has been the leaders for social change on so many fronts. This is yet another opportunity to lead the way and the rest follow. Sports will always be a space for escape but at the same time a powerful instrument for action.
Instead of thoughts and prayers, let’s try policy and change.
