On May 24, a teenager killed 19 children and two adults in a mass shooting at Robb Elementary School in Uvalde, Texas. This resulted in the third-deadliest school shooting in United States history.
In the wake of the incident, Major League Baseball and teams around the league condemned the mass shootings and many called for change, including Los Angeles Dodgers manager Dave Roberts and San Francisco Giants manager Gabe Kapler, who made the decision to not take the field until the national anthem finished.
Kapler has said he will continue to do so until he feels something has changed in the U.S. to protect citizens from these heinous acts of violence. L.A. Angels manager Joe Maddon said it’s Kapler’s right to protest, however he declined to comment on it any further, via Sam Blum of The Athletic:
Maddon was asked about his thoughts on Giants manager Gabe Kapler’s decision to not come out for the national anthem in the wake of the mass shooting in Uvalde, Texas. Maddon declined to address Kapler’s decision, saying, “That’s his choice right there. I’m not going to comment on somebody’s internal, personal feelings on something.”
There should be no debate on how much of a problem gun violence in this country, and calls around the nation are becoming louder on the topic saying something needs to be done. While Maddon declined to comment on the protest, he shared his hopes that elected officials will come together to address the problem:
On the aftermath of the shooting, Maddon added, “We all feel horrified, there’s no question about it. I want to believe that the people in charge are out there attempting to make the right decisions and come to the right conclusions. We have to. We have to do some things differently, whether it’s in the country or right here in the city itself. They’ll tell you the same thing. It’s about people in charge, elected officials, coming together and not being so polarized.”
The tragedy followed another mass shooting 10 days earlier when another teenager, motivated by white supremacy, opened fire in a Buffalo, New York, supermarket and killed 10 people while injuring three more. Of the 13 victims, 11 were Black.
Another mass shooting took place on Thursday as a gunman in Tulsa, Okla. shot and killed four people.
So far in 2022, there have already been 27 school shootings across the country, and 119 since Education Week began tracking them in 2018. While there is no consensus on what should be considered a mass shooting, there have already been more than 200 in the U.S. this year alone, according to NPR.
Make sure to follow Angels Nation on Twitter for all the latest news and updates surrounding the Halos!
