Stick to sports? In the wake of Uvalde, Steve Kerr didn’t and neither should we.
I know, we’re supposed to stick to sports.
It’s all about fun and games. Shut up and dribble. Keep sports out of politics and politics out of sports.
Sorry, not today. Not after what happened Tuesday in Uvalde, Texas, where at least 19 innocent elementary age children and two teachers died in another school shooting. Again. Yes, again. Sports don’t seem all that important. Not right now.
Instead, let’s listen to Steve Kerr, basketball coach of the Golden State Warriors, whose father was the president of the American University in Beirut. On Jan. 18, 1984, Malcolm Kerr was assassinated by two gunmen at the school.
Here’s what Kerr said on Tuesday night before the Warriors played the Dallas Mavericks in Game 4 of the NBA’s Western Conference finals in Dallas, Texas:
“Since we left shootaround, 14 children were killed 400 miles from here. And a teacher. In the last 10 days, we’ve had elderly Black people killed in a supermarket in Buffalo, we’ve had Asian churchgoers killed in Southern California. Now we have children murdered at school.
“When are we going to do something? I’m tired. I’m so tired of getting up here and offering condolences to the devastated families that are out there. I’m so tired. Excuse me. I’m sorry. I’m tired of the moments of silence. Enough!
“There’s 50 senators right now who refuse to vote on HR8, which is a background check rule that the House passed a couple years ago. It’s been sitting there for two years. And there’s a reason they won’t vote on it: to hold onto power.
“So I ask you, Mitch McConnell, I ask all of you senators who refuse to do anything about the violence and school shootings and supermarket shootings. I ask you: Are you going to put your own desire for power ahead of the lives of our children and our elderly and our churchgoers? Because that’s what it looks like. It’s what we do every week.
“So I’m fed up. I’ve had enough. We’re going to play the game tonight. But I want every person here, every person listening to this, to think about your own child or grandchild, or mother or father, sister, brother. How would you feel if this happened to you today?
“We can’t get numb to this. We can’t sit here and just read about it and go, well, let’s have a moment of silence — yeah, Go Dubs. C’mon, Mavs, let’s go. That’s what we’re going to do. We’re going to go play a basketball game.
“Fifty senators in Washington are going to hold us hostage. Do you realize that 90 percent of Americans, regardless of political party, want background checks — universal background checks? Ninety percent of us. We are 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!”
When will we have had enough? Thirteen innocent people were killed by a shooter on May 14 while shopping in a grocery store in Buffalo. It took all of 10 days for that death toll to be topped in Texas. The list seems endless. Columbine. Sandy Hook. Parkland. The Charleston church shooting. Synagogue shootings. The Taiwanese church shooting. When will it end?
It doesn’t matter if you’re Republican or Democrat, conservative or liberal, male or female. It’s unfathomable to me that we watch these tragedies happen without our leaders doing or trying to do something, anything. Thoughts and prayers only go so far.
If you haven’t seen the video of Steve Kerr by now, find it. Google it. Then think about it.
Yes, he’s a basketball coach making millions of dollars, but he’s also a citizen, just like you and me. He’s someone who has lost a family member to gun violence. He’s allowed to say what he believes. He’s allowed to talk about something other than sports.
Especially now.
When will we have had enough?
