Student athletes should be safe. Our kids at school should be safe. We drop off our kids at school every day assuming they will come home. We bring our college freshmen to campus at the beginning of the year counting down the days until Thanksgiving break… our students should be SAFE.
Gun violence has to STOP.
As a mom of a student athlete, I can’t help but see my son’s face in Devin Chandler, Lavel Davis Jr. and D’Sean Perry recently killed at University of Virginia. Student athletes devote YEARS of their lives to their craft. These young men have worked with various coaches over the years and worked hard to be at the level that they were. Their parents brought them to college and trusted their sons would be safe. These kids were living their best college lives and this was all shattered and ended by senseless gun violence.
As local Baton Rouge sportscaster, Jacques Doucet tweeted “These Virginia football players seemed to be doing everything right in life. They were attending a university, earning degrees, while having the discipline, talent and commitment to be part of a Power Five program. It cannot be properly expressed how wrong and unthinkable this all is.”
My heart is breaking as I picture the moms of these students. They have hometown fans who have followed them and loved them. They have siblings, nieces and nephews who have looked up to them. There are no words that can say to make this tragedy any better. I cannot take any of their pain away.
In these situations that are unbearably painful, I like to focus on my parenting. What can I do to improve our world? I often think of this quote “Your greatest contribution to the universe may not be something you do, but someone you raise.” What can we do to make our world a better place?
I can stand up for ending gun violence. I can teach my kids how to be nice to everyone. I can teach my kids to stand up for the kids being bullied and ALWAYS speak up. I can surround my kids with safe adults who they can talk to when talking to their parents seems uncomfortable.
Gun violence must end. We must band together to end these senseless deaths.
Our hearts are going out to all of the families that have lost someone to senselessly to gun violence. We are standing with you against gun violence.
