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Utah Jazz point guard Jamaal Tinsley (6) and teammates take a moment of silence before an NBA basketball game against the Phoenix Suns Friday, Dec. 14, 2012, on behalf of the school shooting victims in Connecticut earlier today and their families in Phoenix. (Rick Scuteri/AP Photos)
Stars from several different sports took to Twitter on Friday to try and cope with the school shooting in Connecticut, and the NFL asked each of its teams to observe a moment of silence before this weekend’s games to pay respect to the victims.
A man killed his mother at home and then opened fire inside the elementary school where she taught, slaying 26 people, including 20 children. The 20-year-old killer, carrying two handguns, then committed suicide at the school.
“It’s awful, just an awful day. It really, really is,” Boston Celtics coach Doc Rivers said before their game at Houston. “This is our jobs. This is not a game for us, it is what we do but when something like this happens, it supersedes job and everything else. As a parent — I don’t know — this is just awful, awful what happened.”
Struggling to stay composed, Cleveland Cavaliers coach Byron Scott paused a couple of times as talked about the tragedy in Newtown, a small community about 60 miles northeast of New York City.
“I have three healthy kids and a beautiful granddaughter,” he said. “When you hear about kids who are that young and don’t get a chance to live because of something that’s so senseless as somebody going in and doing the things that this person did, I think it affects everybody. It puts everything in the right perspective as well. As much as we love this game, this doesn’t mean nothing.”
From the full slate of NBA games to high school and college football finals, there were moments of silences at sporting events of all sizes. The overhead videoboard at the Barclays Center showed a candle and the town seal of Newtown as the Nets and Pistons paused for reflection before their game in Brooklyn.
Oklahoma City star Kevin Durant wrote “Newtown CT” on both shoes for the Thunder’s 113-103 victory over Sacramento.
“I wish I could do more,” he said. “But it hit me really hard. It’s tough to see, especially kids that couldn’t do anything for themselves. Words can’t even describe it. I’m kind of at a loss for words right now.”
The NFL sent a memo asking for each of its teams to observe a moment of silence before this weekend’s games.
“This shocking event has brought the nation together in grieving for the victims and their families as well as the survivors,” the note read. “We believe it is appropriate and important for us to collectively recognize and participate in the grieving process at our games this weekend, as we have done on other occasions.”
Many athletes took to social media websites to process what happened, discussing their shock and horror, and openly worrying about their kids at school.
“Innocent victims just gone,” Miami Heat star LeBron James said in a series of posts on Twitter. “This is really messing with my mind. Kids is everything to me! And of course i have 2 of my own in elementary school as well. I can’t imagine it happening to my kids school. I and the rest of the families would be devastated! Something has to be done.”
Golfer John Daly talked about home schooling his children, and outspoken Minnesota Vikings punter Chris Kluwe wondered about the road ahead.
“The way we deal with this tragedy in CT will tell us a lot about where we’re headed as a society. Do we only address the symptoms (i.e. just gun control laws)? Or do we also address the disease — how we treat each other and those who need help,” Kluwe said in a couple of posts on Twitter.
There also was some anger.
Montreal Canadiens captain Brian Gionta tweeted: “Not sure if there is anything lower than harming innocent children.” He ended the tweet with a hashtag of “coward,” then was critical of the media interviewing young children outside the school.
“At some point, we’ve got to get past bureaucracy and all the nonsense and do something about this so our kids can be safe,” said New Orleans Hornets coach Monty Williams, who has five children ranging in age from 2 to 14.
“If we can go to outer space and take care of trees and rivers and animals, we can do a better job of taking care of our kids. It’s just a sad situation.”
