For better or worse, in the modern NBA players are often looked to for commentary on issues that transcend basketball — some of them so grave that the sport hardly seems worthy of our attention in comparison.
And such an event transpired on Tuesday, with yet another massacre taking place at a school in Uvalde, Texas that left at least 18 children dead at the hands of an alleged shooter themselves hardly more than a child. After practice on Wednesday, star Boston Celtics forward Jayson Tatum found himself being asked about the shooting, which happened almost two years to the day of the incident that took the life of George Floyd.
“(The killing of George Floyd) had a great impact on everyone,” explained Tatum, “especially at the time that it happened.”
“What happened yesterday in Texas was devastating,” he continued.
“Obviously, a lot of people have been on record the last 24 hours, talking about how it is sad how it’s becoming something we’re getting numb to. It truly is — what happened yesterday was sickening. And obviously, everybody sends their prayers and condolences to the families of those kids. But at some point, that does get tiring of going through the same process and the same results keep happening over and over again. I’m no politician, but I heard yesterday that (the alleged shooter), when he turned 18, the first thing that he did was buy a handgun and an assault rifle. If you don’t know anything about law, that just doesn’t sound like something you should be able to do.”
“I’m a basketball player, I don’t have all the answers, but something does have to change in that regard,” Tatum added. “because things like this continue to happen.”
It is unfair to NBA players like Tatum, who tweeted how it breaks his “heart hearing this news” while reflecting on how no parent should ever have to lose their child, to be looked to as the levers of change as much as they are also parents while elected officials continue to foist meaningless catchphrases and pointing fingers of blame while the status quo remains.
We would like to write about basketball. You would like to read about it. They would like to talk about it.
But fundamental guarantees to safety for society’s most vulnerable have not been honored, making even the transformative power of sport and the platform it can provide seem minuscule when weighed against the absence of effective action from those we depend on to protect us.
This post originally appeared on Celtics Wire. Follow us on Facebook!
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