Coach: ‘We’re all sick of thoughts and prayers’
Mixed emotions overcame the Orlando soccer community this week.
The Orlando Pride were preparing for Friday’s home game vs. the Washington Spirit.
Orlando City had just won its U.S. Open Cup bout against in-state rival Inter Miami after a penalty shootout Wednesday at Exploria Stadium, sending the Lions to the quarterfinals of the tournament.
After the game, however, coach Oscar Pareja took a moment to reflect on the tragic events the day prior in Texas where 21 students and teachers were killed in a mass shooting.
“Please stop. Please do it. We need to stop that,” he said. “Life is so beautiful. Our kids are our treasures and everybody works so hard to make a family, build a family. Please stop that.”
The tragedy hit close to home for Pareja, who spent almost 20 years in Texas as a player and a coach. His three children grew up in Dallas, going to school in the area.
The Lions manager was just one of many from the men’s and women’s sides to express their condolences for the victims, while others, such as Lions forward Ercan Kara, took a different approach.
Kara, who comes from Austria, doesn’t experience these kinds of tragedies in his home country. In his native German, he said that he was shocked and expressed his concern as to how this could have happened.
“I saw that on the TV and I was really shocked what can happen in a school,” Kara said. “That is not normal, that an 18-year-old can own a gun legally. I will not say too much, but something must be done.”
For Pride goalkeeper Erin McLeod, who is Canadian, it was a similar sentiment regarding gun laws in the United States and how accessible they are compared to any other country in the world.
“I don’t understand how easy it is to get guns in this country,” she said. “I don’t understand this whole fight on abortion when we’re not protecting the lives of people in this country. It’s absolutely absurd. It’s disgusting. Something has to change.”
The teams put out a joint statement Wednesday, saying that thoughts and prayers, moments of silence and statements are not enough to make change and that “we must continue to use our voices” to put an end to the gun violence in the country.
Pride coach Amanda Cromwell echoed those sentiments. Her team (2-21) has allowed the most goals in NWSL (10), but that isn’t her priority in this moment.
“Step up and be vocal about what needs to happen because this will keep happening and we can’t wait,” she said. “I think we’re all sick of thoughts and prayers. We’re done with that.”