Roberts, Betts call for change after shooting
“... To have parents afraid to send their kids to schools, kids afraid to go to school for their health and well-being – it's just sad beyond measure . ... ” — Dodgers manager Dave Roberts, on the school shooting in Uvalde, Texas
WASHINGTON » When he learned of the school shooting in Uvalde, Texas, just before the Dodgers’ game Tuesday night, Manager Dave Roberts said “it buckled me” and left him with “a heavy heart” a day later.
It also motivated him to speak passionately about the need to address the epidemic of mass shootings that seems a uniquely American problem. Roberts called Warriors head coach Steve Kerr “a good friend of mine” and echoed the sentiments Kerr expressed to reporters before their NBA playoff game on Tuesday in Dallas.
“I have young kids, and I was raised going to public schools and education is king,” said Roberts, a father of two. “To have parents afraid to send their kids to schools, kids afraid to go to school for their health and well-being, it’s just sad beyond measure. There are two teachers that lost their lives and they have kids. You talk about 8-year-olds, 9-year-olds, that won’t have an opportunity to live life.
“I think there’s over 200 mass shootings in our country this year. The school shootings, there’s been dozens this year. It’s hard to not be reactionary because I think we all are emotional. … What are we going to do about it?”
Dodgers outfielder Mookie Betts was one of many professional athletes moved to speak out on social media after the shooting that killed 19 children and two adults at Robb Elementary School in Uvalde.
“I’m still trying to understand why 2 weeks ago 10 ppl were killed in a Buffalo grocery store & today 18 children and 1 adult were killed at an elementary school in Texas,” Betts posted to his
Twitter account. “As a parent, I’m heartbroken! Gun Laws must be changed. Mental Illness is real! This is not ok #WeAreTired”
Roberts said he was “raised to stay in my lane” but was moved by the horrific nature of the recent shootings in Texas and Buffalo to speak out. Kerr strongly called out Republican politicians who have blocked gun-control legislation at the Congressional level. Roberts expressed the same frustration with the failure to address gun violence in a meaningful way.
“It’s ironic that I’m sitting here in the nation’s capital where it’s been run up the flagpole, but it just seems to come to a hard stop at the Senate,” Roberts said. “How there can’t be a bipartisan consensus on an issue like this — it’s very disheartening. It’s very irresponsible by our nation’s leaders. Something needs to be done. Like everyone has said, enough is enough. When is enough enough?
“I love this country as much as anyone. But the people who are supposed to lead our country are supposed to take care of our walls first. That’s both sides of the aisle. If you have Americans killing Americans, I just don’t think they’re doing the job they’re called to do, to be quite frank. And we just can’t be afraid to hold people to a higher standard of accountability. That’s their job. That’s what they signed up for. It shouldn’t be about self-preservation, self-fulfillment. It should be about right is right, and what protects American citizens. Namely, kids. There’s no other spin.”
Roberts, whose father served in the U.S. Marines for 30 years, said he can’t “see the other side” of those who argue for allowing access to automatic weapons.
“I try to be open-minded about a lot of things, but I don’t think it has anything to do with hunting,” he said. “I have a lot of friends that hunt. But hunting is a sport, it’s a game, and with an automatic weapon, that doesn’t seem to me like it’s hunting. Getting a driver’s permit, a job, (you have to be) 25 years old to get a (rental) car. But to be able to go in and buy an automatic weapon, that’s very scary.
“The other layer is mental illness and that’s something we all have to address as well. That’s not being proactive, it’s real in every walk of life that we all have to take note of. … Who’s to say that something can’t happen at a ballpark? We gotta all be careful and we have to be proactive and do what is right. Right is right.”
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Left-hander Andrew Heaney said his shoulder felt “normal” after his most recent bullpen session, and he will throw another one today, simulating three innings’ worth of work. Heaney could be ready to face hitters after that and go on a rehab assignment soon.
“I’m just kind of going step by step, ticking the boxes, feeling good,” Heaney said.