Warriors, Celtics wear ‘End Gun Violence’ shirts for Game 2 warmups

WHAT YOU NEED TO KNOW:

• The Golden State Warriors and Boston Celtics players wore orange T-shirts during warmups on Sunday with the message “End Gun Violence.”
• Players and coaches from the two teams said it is part of a nationwide campaign to spread awareness about the gun violence crisis in the U.S.
• The message on the shirts was displayed on the jumbotron at the Chase Center ahead of Game 2 of the NBA Finals.

The Celtics and the Warriors sent a joint message during warmups on Sunday ahead of Game 2 of the NBA Finals in San Francisco. 

Players and coaches from both teams were wearing bright orange T-shirts with the message: “End Gun Violence.” They said it’s part of a nationwide effort to raise awareness about gun violence in the United States.

It comes in the wake of the elementary school shooting in Uvalde, Texas, and the grocery store shooting in Buffalo, New York.

“We feel very strongly as a league that it’s time for people to take notice and to take part in what should be a nationwide effort to limit the gun violence that’s out there,” Warriors coach Steve Kerr said. “There are ways to limit it, and there are proven laws that are waiting to be passed … There are things we can do that would not violate people’s Second Amendment rights but would save lives.”

Kerr has been vocal about being against gun violence throughout his career.

Over the past month, there have been 69 documented mass shootings in the U.S., according to the Gun Violence Archive, and 11 over the weekend alone. Mass shootings in Philadelphia and Chattanooga on Saturday night and Sunday morning left at least six dead.

“The awareness is really about things that are continuing to happen in our communities,” Celtics head coach Ime Udoka said. “They’re devastated by it, their families are devastated and we can’t go on with our normal life and business … It continues to happen, so awareness and change needs to be made.”

Kerr ended his message with a plea to Americans: “People gotta vote. If you feel strongly about saving lives, possibly someone even in your own family, get out and vote.”

“The biggest thing I think is to vote,” he said. “What I understand is that a lot of races, congressional races that are out there, despite the fact that the majority of people in this country want gun safety measures put in place, a lot of those races are decided by people who aren’t so much for any kind of gun safety measures.

The message on the back of the shirts included a list of Twitter accounts to follow for information on gun violence. It was displayed on the jumbotron at the Chase Center ahead of Game 2.

Source: AOL