Golden State Warriors coach Steve Kerr on Tuesday called for a passionate petition for Congress to enact gun control, following the mass shooting in Uvalde, Texas, which left at least 19 children and two adults dead.
At a press conference before Game 4 of the NBA Western Conference Finals in Dallas, Kerr, visibly shaken, said he was “fed up” and hit the table in frustration.
““When will we do something? I’m tired. I’m so tired of going up here and offering my condolences to the devastated families out there. “”
Kerr especially criticized the inaction of the U.S. Senate, which has stopped legislation on universal background checks for the purchase of weapons, an issue that the vast majority of U.S. voters support.
“I’m so tired of coming up here and offering my condolences to the devastated families out there. I’m tired of the excuses, I’m tired of the moments of silence. Enough! There are 50 senators who refuse to vote for the HR-8, which is a background check rule that the House approved two years ago, “he said. “They will not vote for him because they want to maintain their own power. It’s pathetic. I’ve had enough.”
“I ask you, will you put your own desire for power ahead of the lives of our children, our elders, and our faithful? Because that’s what it looks like,” Kerr said.
“I’m sick of it. I’ve had enough,” Kerr continued. “We’re going to play tonight’s game. But I want every person here, every person who hears this, to think of their own child, grandson, mother, father, sister, brother, how would you feel if this happened to you today? We can’t fall asleep with that! ”
Also read: Gun control groups respond to the Texas shooting: “Schools should be safe havens for our children, not where they’re going to die.”
Kerr is one of the most socially aware coaches in professional sports and has spoken out on social issues numerous times. Armed violence strikes especially near Kerr’s house; his father, a professor at the American University of Beirut, was shot dead in 1984.
Los Angeles Lakers star LeBron James echoed Kerr’s frustration in a series of tweets Tuesday. “Like when there’s enough man !!!” he tweeted. “There just has to be change! IT HAS TO BE !!”