UVALDE, Texas — Tuesday morning, our nation was rocked by a tragedy we hoped to never see happen again.
At least 19 children and two teachers were killed in a shooting at Robb Elementary School in Uvalde, Texas.
The small town is about 350 miles southwest of Dallas, where the Mavericks and Golden State Warriors are playing game four of the Western Conference Finals.
The shooting has caused many athletes and coaches to speak out, including Warriors head coach Steve Kerr, who was visibly shaken while speaking before their game.
"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," Kerr said. "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 and I'm tired of the moments of silence. Enough! There's 50 senators right now who refuse to vote on H.R. 8, which is a background check rule that the House passed a couple years ago that'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 or sister or 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,' you know, 'C'mon Mavs, let's go.' That's what we're going to do. We're going to go play a basketball game and 50 senators in Washington are going to hold us hostage. Do you realize that 90% of Americans, regardless of political party, want 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 onto their own power. It's pathetic. I've had enough."
Kerr's father, Malcolm, was murdered in Beirut in 1984. Kerr was a freshman at the University of Arizona at the time.
The Warriors and Mavericks did observe a moment of silence before their game to honor the victims of today's shooting.
The 'NBA on TNT' crew opened up their pregame broadcast before the Warriors and Mavericks game by spending more than 10 minutes discussing the shooting.
The NBA released a statement before the game as well.
And many athletes also voiced their shock about the shooting and their condolences on social media.
Suns point guard Chris Paul:
Cardinals LB Devon Kennard:
Cardinals TE Trey McBride:
Cardinals DE J.J. Watt:
Lakers F LeBron James:
Celtics F/G Jayson Tatum:
Saguaro head football coach Jason Mohns:
Chiefs QB Patrick Mahomes:
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