National tragedies impact everyone in different ways, and Ime Udoka took a moment Wednesday to reflect on the latest horrific mass shooting in the United States.
The Boston Celtics head coach shared a personal reaction to Tuesday's news of an 18-year-old gunman killing at least 19 children and two teachers at Robb Elementary School in Uvalde, Texas -- the second mass shooting in the last two weeks and the deadliest school shooting since the 2012 massacre at Sandy Hook Elementary School in Connecticut.
"Being in San Antonio for all those years, Uvalde is very close," said Udoka, who spent seven seasons as a Spurs assistant coach from 2012 to 2019. "You see the signs all the time. It's about a 60- to 70-minute drive away. So, tragic situation obviously for that community and for our country in general."
Udoka and his fiancée, Nia Long, also have a 10-year-old son, and it was very difficult for Udoka to learn that many of the victims of Tuesday's massacre were around his son's age.
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"That's the first thing you think about as the father of a 10-year-old fourth-grader," Udoka said. "Getting those calls or that frantic news is just unimaginable, honestly, to find yourself in that situation as a parent."
Udoka also expressed frustration over the fact that we've been here before: There have been 14 mass shootings at U.S. schools that have left a total of 169 people dead since the Columbine massacre in 1999, and yet gun control laws have remained largely unchanged over the last two decades.
"Your heart goes out to the whole community, the country in general and the school, but it seems like these things continue to happen and not much of a wakeup call. Nothing really changes," Udoka said. "So, that's the thing that stands out. It's like, 'What's next?'
"Things happened last week in Buffalo, this one (in Texas) yesterday, and the first thing you think of as a parent (is), 'What's gonna happen? What's gonna change?' And that's kind of the underlying theme: As of now, not much changes due to these incidents.
"You look back at Sandy Hook, Columbine, all the incidents throughout my lifetime growing up, and there has not been a ton of change with the rules and regulations and gun laws. Tough situation overall. Me being in that community in San Antonio, it hit home to me."
Celtics star Jayson Tatum also called Tuesday's rampage "sickening" on Wednesday and used social media to amplify Golden State Warriors head coach Steve Kerr's passionate plea for change to gun laws in the U.S.
"What happened yesterday in Texas was devastating," Tatum said. "It's sad that it's becoming something we're getting numb to, and it truly is. What happened yesterday was sickening.
"Obviously everybody sends their prayers and condolences to the families of those kids, but at some point, that does get tiring, going through the same process and the same result keeps happening over and over again."
This is a live update. Click here for complete coverage of the school shooting in Uvalde, Texas.
