Ahead of Game 5 of the Western Conference Finals on Thursday night, the Golden State Warriors observed a moment of silence for the victims of Tuesday’s mass shooting in Uvalde, Texas.
Unlike past moments of silence, the Chase Center announcer concluded by providing resources for people seeking “reasonable weapons laws in America.” Although the arena was only about a third of its fans in its seats at the time of the announcement, the spirits were very strong.
Our hearts go out to the families and friends of the 21 victims who were tragically murdered at Robb Elementary School.
For more information on how to support reasonable gun laws in the United States, visit pic.twitter.com/9SHcVaSgDF
– Golden State Warriors (@warriors) May 27, 2022
On Wednesday, the Miami Heat had a similar end to their moment of silence. The team’s announcer told fans, “The Heat urges you to contact your state senators by calling 202-224-3121 to leave a message demanding their support for common sense gun laws.”
Warriors head coach Steve Kerr, a longtime advocate of stronger gun laws, had previously expressed his displeasure that moments of silence usually get little.
“I think it’s okay to have a moment of silence, but I’ll be honest, it’s probably the ninth or tenth moment of silence I’ve experienced as a Warriors coach when we mourn the loss of people who have died. In mass shootings,” he said. say after a shooting in Sacramento in April. “I don’t think moments of silence do anything. At some point, at some point, our government has to decide, ‘Will we have common sense gun laws?’ It won’t fix everything, but it will save lives. “
After this week’s shooting in Texas, it had a similar tone.
“When are we going to do something?” said the coach. “I’m very tired of getting up here and offering my condolences to the devastated families out there; I’m tired of the excuses; I’m tired of the moments of silence. Enough.”