The United States men’s national team wore orange armbands during a 0-0 friendly against Uruguay on Sunday to show support for a letter the team sent to Congress asking for a tougher gun control law.
The letter was written after the mass shooting of 19 students and two teachers in Uwalde, Texas, by an 18-year-old shooter. The massacre came just 10 days after another teenager shot and killed 10 people at a supermarket in a predominantly black neighborhood in Buffalo, New York.
The US House of Representatives is expected to vote on gun control legislation in the coming days.
“As the bill is being considered in the coming days in the House of Representatives and the Senate, we urge you to stand with the majority of Americans who support stricter gun laws,” the letter said.
Like dozens of other professional sports teams in the United States this weekend, the orange armbands worn by the USMNT showed support for Wear Orange Weekend, an annual event calling for an end to gun violence.
“I am really proud of the whole group today for the letter that was sent to everyone in Congress calling for action,” US manager Greg Berhalter said after the game. “Sometimes it’s easy to get caught up in our little world and what we do, and then forget what’s going on in the outside world, but this group certainly didn’t.
“And you saw the letter and the orange ribbons. And everyone is just tired, and it’s good that this group is asking for action and asking people to make a change, and change is something we’ve been a part of for a while. “
The letter was written at the suggestion of Berhalter, who was motivated by the shooting of Hadia Pendleton. At the time of his death in 2013, Pendleton was only 15 years old.
“It’s not just the mass shootings you see every day, it’s just the unnecessary gun violence and the children and people who die every day,” Berhalter added.
Following Berhalter’s proposal, the team’s steering committee wrote the original draft and then passed it on to the entire team.
“We wanted to take action and really send it to Congress to those who can make a difference with these laws, and we’re really proud of the group and the way we’ve stepped up,” said lawyer Walker Zimmerman.
Midfielder Christian Pulisic added: “People can say, ‘It’s not the weapons, it’s the people,’ but we have to start somewhere.” And that’s where we wanted to start. “
The USSF has worked to expand social justice messages with senior national teams in the past. The men’s national team adopted the slogan “Be The Change”, which is reflected in the letter, and wore warm-up equipment in support of the Black Lives Matter movement.
USWNT also wore “Black Lives Matter” to their warm-ups in past games. Several USWNT players wore athletic tape on their wrists that read “Protect Trans Kids” during their SheBelieves Cup match against Iceland in February.
The USSF’s board of directors also passed a preliminary resolution in March banning discriminatory chanting, as it relates to events organized by the USSF. This resolution was adopted at the last meeting of the USSF Rules Committee.
“There are people who say that athletes should not interfere in issues that are considered political,” the letter said. “Surely we can all agree that the safety of children in our country is a sacred responsibility that is shared by all of us.
“We think it would be irresponsible not to use our awareness-raising platform and call for change. Our activism is driven by necessity – we are talking about this problem because many of you are refusing to take action. “
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