When athletes talk about social or political issues, many often shout, “Stick to sports.” When athletes talk about the issue of gun violence, those cries are more rare and muted.
And for good reason. “Stick to sports” is the chorus of those who disagree with what the athlete is saying. Few disagree with the voices who want Americans to stop shooting and killing each other with guns.
On Friday, Eagles quarterback Jalen Hurts added his voice to the constant call for change from the governed to those doing the governing.
“Everybody is impacted by it one way or another,” Hurts said, with the team’s official website. “Everyone sitting here may have kids, someone they love. It all matters whether that be just spreading love, appreciating what you have, but ultimately getting this artillery off the streets and making true change and that’s something we urge in all our communities, in the community of Philadelphia. . . . It’s got to change. Something’s got to change.”
And he knows it’s not just an issue of gun safety. It’s promoting feelings and values that make people less inclined to do violence to others.
“We have opportunities to spread hope, love, encouragement, and uplift those around us,” Hurts said. “I take that to heart. Being able to spend time with a kid means the world to me. Some kids get to a point where they lose hope. There’s so much negativity out there they feel like that’s the easy route to go but it doesn’t have to be like that. It doesn’t have to be like that.”
Change comes one heart at a time. It sounds trite, but it’s true. This epidemic of gun violence has many causes. It’s time for solutions, because it’s too easy for the people who don’t like a given solution to focus the blame on one of the other causes.