‘Something needs to be done’: Emotional Roberts discusses Texas shooting

WASHINGTON — Simply earlier than taking the sector on Tuesday, Dodgers supervisor Dave Roberts checked the information to see what was occurring across the nation. Simply seconds in, his coronary heart grew heavy.

Earlier that day, 19 youngsters and two adults had been killed in a mass capturing at an elementary faculty in Uvalde, Texas. An 18-year-old gunman was chargeable for the deadliest capturing at a U.S. grade faculty since a gunman killed 20 youngsters and 6 adults at Sandy Hook Elementary in Newtown, Conn., in 2012.

The capturing in Texas got here simply 10 days after one other gunman killed 10 Black buyers and staff in a racist assault on a grocery store in Buffalo, N.Y. Simply as Golden State Warriors head coach Steve Kerr did on Tuesday, Roberts, who grew up in a navy household, needed to specific his frustration and ache following yet one more mass capturing.

“I used to be raised to remain in my lane,” Roberts mentioned. “However to have dad and mom afraid to ship their children to colleges, children afraid to go to highschool for his or her well being and well-being, it’s simply unhappy past measure. There are two academics that misplaced their lives they usually have children. You speak about eight-year-olds, nine-year-olds, that received’t have a possibility to stay life. A great pal of mine, Steve Kerr, was very emotional yesterday through the Western Convention Finals and displaying and saying what’s most necessary, and that’s lives. What are we going to do about it?

“Like everybody has mentioned, sufficient is sufficient. When is sufficient? Sufficient. … I apologize for not simply speaking about Dodger baseball, however who’s to say that one thing can’t occur at a ballpark? We gotta all watch out and we now have to be proactive and do what is correct. Proper is correct.”

Roberts and the remainder of the Dodgers stood out on the sector earlier than Tuesday’s sport as a second of silence occurred at Nationals Park. The American flag in left discipline was flying at half workers following the tragedy. The Dodgers’ supervisor mentioned it was “ironic” that he was sitting in a dugout speaking about these points on the nation’s capital, and he urged resolution makers to come back to an settlement that may make such tragedies much less doubtless.

“There’s a lot negativity and issues that folks pontificate on, however proper is correct. And never with the ability to do background checks on folks to hold automated weapons, I simply don’t see the opposite facet,” Roberts mentioned. “Getting a driver’s allow, a job, 25 years to get a automobile, however to have the ability to go in and purchase an automated weapon, that’s very scary, and the numbers don’t lie. … How there can’t be a bipartisan consensus on a difficulty like this, it’s very disheartening [and] it’s very irresponsible by our nation’s leaders. One thing must be finished.”

Dodgers celebrity Mookie Betts additionally took to social media to specific his condolences and anger following the tragic occasions. Gavin Lux and another members of the Dodgers, together with wives and help workers, expressed the identical.

“I’m nonetheless making an attempt to grasp why 2 weeks in the past 10 ppl had been killed in a Buffalo grocery retailer [and] right this moment 18 youngsters and 1 grownup had been killed at an elementary faculty in Texas,” Betts tweeted. “As a mum or dad, I’m heartbroken! Gun Legal guidelines have to be modified. Psychological Sickness is actual! This isn’t okay #WeAreTired.”