Watch This US Soccer Player Use His Goal Celebration To Call For Gun Control
"I'm not going to sit idly and watch this stuff happen. Before I'm an athlete, before I'm a soccer player, I'm a human being."
An American soccer star has used a goal celebration to call on the government to take action on gun violence after two separate mass shootings in different parts of the country left 31 people dead.
After scoring the opening goal in a match against D.C. United on Sunday, Philadelphia Union captain Alejandro Bedoya celebrated with his teammates before running over to a TV microphone on the edge of the pitch. “Congress, do something now,” he shouted. “End gun violence. Let’s go.”
Philadelphia Union soccer player Alejandro Bedoya scores a goal in tonight’s game against D.C. United, runs over to a field microphone and shouts, “Congress, do something now. End gun violence.”
Via FS1 pic.twitter.com/7WH4PA08cs— Kyle Griffin (@kylegriffin1) August 5, 2019
His comments came as America grapples with the latest in a long line of gun massacres, which occurred over the weekend in El Paso, Texas and Dayton, Ohio.
Bedoya expanded on his comments after the game, telling reporters that “I’m not going to sit idly and watch this stuff happen”.
“Before I’m an athlete, before I’m a soccer player, I’m a human being. This stuff affects me. I’ve got kids.”
“I’m dropping my kids off at school and I’m looking around, paranoid. Thinking about an exit strategy. When I’m at the mall, when I’m at a movie theatre, when I’m at a concert,” he continued. “Something’s gotta be done. It’s gotten to the point where we’ve almost become numb to it, and that’s a big problem.”
Video of @AleBedoya17’s impassioned plea after Sunday night’s game:
“I’m not going to sit idly by and watch this stuff happen and not say something. Before I’m an athlete, before I’m a soccer player, I’m a human being first.”https://t.co/HoZcTRdZdw pic.twitter.com/vIb0OBAeUK
— Jonathan Tannenwald (@thegoalkeeper) August 5, 2019
In a statement, Major League Soccer confirmed it will not discipline Bedoya for his actions on the field. “The Major League Soccer family joins everyone in grieving for the loss of lives in Texas and Ohio, and we understand that our players and staff have strong and passionate views on this issue,” it said.
Feature image via Noah Salzman/Wikimedia.
