Another mass shooting as the beat goes on.
From the NY Times tonight. A man carrying a rifle and a handgun opened fire in a medical office building in Tulsa, Okla., on Wednesday afternoon, killing four people before apparently taking his own life in the latest mass shooting to shock the country, the authorities said. At a news conference on Wednesday night, Eric Dalgleish, deputy chief of the Tulsa Police Department, said it was unclear whether the gunman had been targeting someone in particular. The identity of the gunman had not been determined, but he was between 35 and 40 years old, Chief Dalgleish said. The police received a call about a shooting at 4:52 p.m., and they arrived at the scene four minutes later, Chief Dalgleish said. All of the gunfire is believed to have taken place in one section of the Natalie Building’s second floor, he said. The sound of gunfire drew officers to that area. Chief Dalgleish said that the victims could have been a combination of workers and patients. No officers were injured, he said. The Muskogee Police Department said that it was alerted by the Tulsa Police Department that the gunman might have left a bomb at a residence in Muskogee, about 50 miles southeast of Tulsa. Muskogee police evacuated the home and notified those in the area to stay inside, the department said.
Is there something in the air in the Golden Gate area that motivates players and coaches to explode onto the national scene by taking a stance on national issues?
In 2016 former San Francisco 49er Colin Kaepernick began kneeling during the national anthem as a protest against police brutality and racial injustice merging the space between sports and politics and igniting a conservative backlash as then-presidential candidate Trump seized on the quarterback’s protest against police brutality and racial injustice. Kaepernick became the conservative’s poster child for spoiled unappreciative athletes. Kaepernick was basically banned from the NFL for six years until he recently signed a lucrative contract with the Las Vegas Raiders. During the years he was basically banned, Kaepernick continued to speak about the racial injustice and police brutality.
Last Tuesday following the massacre in Uvalde, for Golden State Warrior head coach, Steve Kerr, who The Guardian calls the moral compass at the heart of the Warriors, basketball was the furthest thing from Kerr’s mind before his team’s playoff game against the Dallas Mavericks. Kerr, his hands and voice shaking, wavered between anger and devastation as he refused to speak about basketball. Instead, Kerr highlighted the political dysfunction that has helped such slaughter become all too common in the United States. “There’s 50 senators right now who refuse to vote on HRS, which is background check rule [for gun purchases] that the House passed a couple years ago. It’s been sitting [in the Senate] for two years,” Kerr said. “There’s a reason they won’t vote on it: to hold onto power.” It’s no surprise that gun violence is such an emotive topic for Kerr. His father was shot dead in Beirut in 1984. Kerr was playing college basketball in Arizona at the time, and the incident has defined much of his life. “There are a few issues that I am particularly passionate about, one being gun control. My father was murdered, so gun control is always something that I am very passionate about, and that was really the first issue that I brought up with the media years ago.”
And then there is San Francisco Giant manager Gabe Kapler, who is boycotting the national anthem after recent mass shootings by refusing to stand on the field during the national anthem. Rather than resort to memes, insults and straw-man arguments after 19 children and two teachers in Uvalde, he posted a 700-word essay on his blog explaining his decision to stop standing on the field for the pregame national anthem. “I’m often struck before our games by the lack of delivery of the promise of what our national anthem represents. Every time I place my hand over my heart and remove my hat, I’m participating in a self-congratulatory glorification of the ONLY country where these mass shootings take place. I am not OK with the state of this country … when you’re dissatisfied with your country, you let it be known through protest. The home of the brave should encourage this.” Kapler’s move catapulted one of MLB’s most unconventional personalities, into the middle of a deeply contentious political issue.
Born in Hollywood, the tattooed and bespectacled son of a piano teacher, Kapler loves Scotch and steak and wears a broken watch. A diversity advocate, Kapler hired MLB’s first female coach, Kapler has an image of Martin Luther King on his Twitter feed and posts as often about social justice as about balls and strikes. Most of the above came from articles that appeared in The Guardian.
I love that Kaepernick, Kerr and Kapler are not afraid to speak out on social issues. For Kerr and Kapler, their careers have not been negatively affected, while Kaepernick has paid a big price by losing six years during the prime of his career. Athletes, especially well-known athletes, who speak out have an influence that average people do not. Their words and action mean something. Think Muhammad Ali, Jim Brown, Rafer Johnson, Tommie Smith, Megan Rapinoe, Billie Jean King, and many more. These people all put their careers on the line for social change.
Elections Matter. Pray for peace and tolerance. What are you doing to stop the violence?
Quote of the Day: “I’m just thankful I get to work with a guy who cares so much. I may not agree with everything he does on a personal level, but his passion, his thoughtfulness, his conviction over the past few days, those are the same traits that made him the manager of the year last year and made him such a leader for our organization. I don’t want any doubt about my personal feelings about that.” ,” President of baseball operations Farhan Zaidi said Tuesday after taking a moment to collect himself while speaking of the man he hired in 2019.
Orchid of the Day: Tiger pitching coach Chris Fetter, who has a pitching staff that is missing five of the top six starters, in the top five in ERA, and a bullpen staff that is number two in ERA and WHIP. Fetter should have a lock on the American League pitching coach of the year.
Onion of the Day: Another mass shooting today. Fortunately, this does not appear to involve automatic weapons.
Question of the Day: Should star athletes use their fame and influence to speak out on social issues that they support?
Video of the Day: A little sarcasm at the NRA convention that seems to fly over the head of the NRA panel.
We spoke directly to Wayne LaPierre at the NRA Convention and thanked him for all his thoughts and prayers. pic.twitter.com/EfdDrgD4Af
— The Good Liars (@TheGoodLiars) May 29, 2022