As their players competed against each other on the field, the Tampa Bay Rays and New York Yankees social media teams teamed up Thursday night to try to raise awareness about armed violence in the United States.
Following the recent mass shootings in Buffalo, New York, and Uvalde, Texas, both teams chose to use their platforms to provide “facts about armed violence in America” instead of providing any live commentary on the game. Thursday.
“We all deserve to be safe: in schools, grocery stores, places of worship, our neighborhoods, homes, and America,” the Rays posted ahead of Thursday’s game. “The latest shootings in Buffalo and Uvalde have shaken us to the core.
“That can’t become normal. We can’t fall asleep. We can’t look the other way. We all know that if nothing changes, nothing changes.”
The Yankees, who have more than 3.6 million followers on Twitter, added: “The devastating events that have taken place in Uvalde, Buffalo and many other communities in our country are tragedies that are intolerable.”
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– Tampa Bay Rays (@RaysBaseball) May 26, 2022
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– New York Yankees (@Yankees) May 26, 2022
Throughout the game, the teams posted the same facts, as well as attributing where they got those facts, together with each other on their respective Twitter channels.
MLB team social media accounts are generally used during matches to show featured videos, broadcast baseball statistics, or exchange witty jokes with other accounts about field action. On Thursday, this was replaced by publications such as “Firearms were the leading cause of death for American children and adolescents in 2020.”
Tampa Bay also pledged to make a $ 50,000 donation to a national armed violence prevention organization. The Rays, who have more than 650,000 followers, also changed their Twitter headline to an image that said “End Armed Violence.”
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The collaboration comes after an 18-year-old gunman killed 19 children and two teachers at Robb Elementary School Tuesday in Uvalde, Texas. In Buffalo, 10 people died on May 14 when an 18-year-old gunman opened fire on a supermarket. Both gunmen used AR-15-style assault rifles.
“We understand that no single organization can solve this crisis,” the Rays posted, “but working together can make an impact.”
Several notable sports figures, including Golden State Warriors coach Steve Kerr, have used his platform in recent days to call for action to combat armed violence.
The shooting at Uvalde School was particularly personal for Rays reliever Brooks Raley, who is from Uvalde and still has a family living in the city. He attended the school where the shooting took place.
The Associated Press contributed to this report.