Bedoya says emotional message came from the heart
CHESTER >> Alejandro Bedoya was going through his normal, pre-game routine in D.C. Sunday night. Before he left the locker room, donning the captain’s armband for the Philadelphia Union, he said a prayer as usual, then marched out to the field. In keeping with what was on his mind, he added a few special intentions to the prayer: The victims of mass shootings in El Paso, Texas, and Dayton, Ohio, and their families.
Three minutes in, with Bedoya having scored in a key Eastern Conference showdown, emotions rushed in and he made a snap decision to shout into a field microphone with a message to the national TV audience: “Hey Congress, do something now. End gun violence. Let’s go.”
The response has been overwhelmingly positive, Bedoya said Tuesday after Union training, estimating that 95 percent of feedback
has been supportive.
“I’m grateful for that,” he said. “I used my platform, I used my voice. We live in a democracy and people’s voices need to be heard, and I think in this time, it was important for me. It was a spur of the moment thing that’s transcended. I was celebrating a goal with Ilsinho’s mother and hugging her, I looked over and saw a mic and it just hit me. It keeps the conversation going and hopefully leads to action.”
Bedoya hasn’t shied away from the attention of the viral moment, which has been viewed millions of times online. He received the backing of his manager, Jim Curtin, Sunday night. Though Bedoya said he hasn’t spoken to anyone in the MLS office, the league released a brief statement Monday and told the New York Times it has no plans to fine him.
Many within the Union locker room have reposted the captain’s moment on social media, and Bedoya is heartened that the response of athletes reinforces why he spoke out. He knew he wasn’t the only person who couldn’t shake the sadness and fear these incidents bring. He spoke up as a human being first, and the outpouring of support reinforces that he wasn’t the only one feeling that way. He’s also received messages from survivors of mass shootings, a particularly gratifying segment of the response.
“So many MLS players, so many players that I’ve played with over in Europe sent me
articles and sent me messages of support,” he said. “I think what I said was politically nonpartisan. It’s a humanitarian thing, and we’re all feeling the effects of this stuff. I think from a humanitarian standpoint, it’s perfectly normal for people to have feelings and emotions and for me to stand up, in D.C. no less, a mile away from Capitol Hill, and demand more from our policymakers, people who make laws and rules and decisions that affect us all, to try to step up now and stop the madness.
“This type of stuff needs to stop, and we can do something to try to limit this. Doing nothing is not going to accomplish anything. Why not try some other things or new laws, certain solutions; work together?”
When pressed, Bedoya took it a step further. He didn’t point fingers and insists this message comes as a concerned citizen first, but he stated a few measures he’d like to see enacted: Universal background checks, expanded red flag laws and bans against assault weapons and high-capacity magazines. Those positions have garnered support across the political spectrum at one time or another, even if political will has been lacking to pass them nationally. The ideas achieved a consensus among the diverse group of friends Bedoya has engaged in lengthy discussion, a group that includes gun owners.
Bedoya also warned against distractions, like focusing too heavily on the mental health excuse (by both pointing out its prevalence in other countries without rampant gun violence and illustrating the contradiction of
many politicians’ hostility to universal health care) or on the scientifically bogus notion that video games contribute to gun violence. A father of two, he also voiced criticism at the notion of arming teachers to curb school violence.
Bedoya’s positions, he took pains to point out, were as a citizen and human being first, not motivated by politics. “I see myself as a human being that is voicing his concerns,” he said. The fact that the discussion is in its third day shows he’s achieved some measure of success.
“I said what I said. It’s had an impact,” he said. “You guys are here and we’re talking soccer but we’re also talking about something that I think most of us have to deal with.”
Bedoya’s interaction with Curtin is an enlightening example. While they both can be held up as representatives of so many groups — soccer players, athletes, members of the Union organization — they first and foremost come at the issue as fathers, as husbands, as Americans who are frightened by the prevalence of gun violence.
That is the visceral level from which Bedoya’s desire to speak springs, and the most fundamental level at which he hopes his utterance connected with an audience.
“I thanked Jim right after the game and did the same thing this morning,” Bedoya said. “First thing I said was, ‘Jim thank you for your support.’ I don’t expect anything less or anything more, just the support of another fellow human being and the fact that everyone should be able to feel safer, feel more freedom. That’s what this country is about.”