The Tampa Bay Rays and New York Yankees baseball teams took the unusual step of converting their Twitter accounts on Thursday to spreading facts about gun violence following the recent mass shootings in Buffalo and Uvalde, Texas.
Instead of showing information about pitching performances or the latest home runs, the Twitter channels of both teams presented facts about armed violence during the course of their match in St. Louis. Petersburg, Florida.
Rays communications staff members led the effort to investigate and investigate the facts, an initiative assisted by Jason Zillo, vice president of communications for the Yankees, who was in St. Petersburg for the four-game series, along with others. members of the Yankees. communication equipment. Each event was followed by a citation.
“There are things that are bigger than baseball,” Zillo said. “It’s good that we can use our platform to share facts that are important to everyone, regardless of who you like or if you’re a sports fan.”
The Yankees’ Twitter account has 3.6 million followers. The Rays have about 650,000. Teams also posted the facts in their Instagram stories. The Yankees have 2.9 million followers on this platform, while the Rays have 430,000.
An article noted that firearms were the leading cause of death for American children and adolescents in 2020, according to a study published by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. Another noted that about 12 veterans a day die by suicide with a firearm, according to a study published by the U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs.
The Rays, the team’s colors are blue and white, changed the background banner of their Twitter account to orange, which is often used to raise awareness about armed violence and prevention efforts, with a banner which said “End Armed Violence.” Brooks Raley, a Rays pitcher, attended Uvalde’s school where the shooting took place.
The Rays said they donated $ 50,000 to Everytown for Gun Safety, an organization that promotes the prevention of armed violence, and said they were working with the group to “amplify the facts about armed violence in America.”
“The latest shootings in Buffalo and Uvalde have shaken us to the core,” the Rays said in a statement on their feed. “The Tampa Bay Rays are mourning the heartbreaking tragedies that took the lives of innocent children and adults.”
Twenty-one people, including 19 children, were killed on Tuesday by a gunman at an elementary school in Uvalde. Less than two weeks have passed since a gunman in Buffalo killed 10 people in a supermarket in a racist attack.
Mr. Zillo said the Yankees would expand their efforts against gun violence during their next home, which is scheduled to begin Tuesday, specifically to address gun violence in the Bronx, where the team plays.
“As citizens of the world, it is difficult to process these shootings and return to the usual routine,” Zillo added in a text message. “For one night, we wanted to reflect and draw attention to the statistics that are much more important and important than the baptism average.”
An hour after the Yankees first posted that they would post messages about armed violence instead of game details, the article had more than 70,000 likes, which Mr. Zillo said it was among his highest rate for any post.
At least one other professional sports league has tried to use its weight to draw attention to armed violence. In 2015, NBA stars, backed by the league, appeared in ads sponsored by Everytown for Gun Safety, following a series of shootings.
The Yankees have taken steps to tackle mass shootings in the past, led by then-owner George Steinbrenner, the family’s patriarch who still owns the team, which is run by his son, Hal Steinbrenner. In 2007, the Steinbrenners donated $ 1 million to a Virginia Tech University memorial fund after a mass shooting there, and the following year the Yankees played an exhibition game on the campus of Blacksburg, Virginia. the school.