The Rush: Sports stars sound off on horrific mass shooting in Uvalde, TX
Hours before the Dallas Mavericks staved off elimination with a Game 4 win over the Golden State Warriors, a gunman massacred children and adults at an elementary school in Uvalde, Texas. Warriors coach Steve Kerr delivered an emotional call to action during his pre-game media availability while athletes from across the sports world refused to stick to sports, speaking out about the tragedy.
Video Transcript
STEVE KERR: Any basketball questions don't matter. Since we left Shootaround, 14 children were killed 400 miles from here. And a teacher. And 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. And now, we have children murdered at school. When are we going to do something?
JARED QUAY: Hours before game 4 of the Western Conference Finals in Dallas, a man walked into an elementary school and shot at least 19 people to death, wounding several others. As Warriors coach Steve Kerr pointed out, the massacre happened just a few miles away from the Mavericks' home arena in Uvalde, Texas. This crisis hits close to home in more ways than one for Kerr, whose father, Malcolm, was shot to death in 1984.
STEVE KERR: I want every person here, every person listening to this, to think about your own child or grandchild or mother or father or sister, brother. How would you feel if this happened to you today? We can't get numb to this. Do you realize that 90% of Americans, regardless of political party, want background checks, universal background checks? 90% 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 on to their own power. It's pathetic, I've had enough.
JARED QUAY: It's hard for anyone to focus on a game after a tragedy like this, and Steph Curry was no exception. Just 30 minutes prior to tip off, the Golden State star tweeted this, encouraging people to pay as much attention to his coach's comments as the game itself. The Mavericks got the win, staving off elimination, but still have an uphill battle to climb, being down 3 games to 1 in the series. Some things transcend sports, and this massacre of young children is one of those things. Athletes across the country are not sticking to sports today, so neither are we. Here are the thoughts and emotion of some of your favorite athletes in their own words.
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