Missouri football coach Eliah Drinkwitz said his team will honor the victims of Monday’s shooting at a St. Louis high school when the Tigers play at South Carolina on Saturday.
Drinkwitz opened his Tuesday news conference by reflecting on the shooting that resulted in the death of two people and injuries to several others.
The 39-year-old father of four told reporters his thoughts and prayers were with all those affected. He also recognized that the issue of school shootings is all too familiar in the United States.
In May, a gunman killed 19 children and two adults at an Uvalde, Texas, elementary school.
Drinkwitz said his statement wasn’t about politics.
“It’s about protecting the future of our country, and our children are our future,” he said. “And we cannot continue to live like this. We just can’t.”
Drinkwitz said, “We need to get this right.”
“We’ve got to figure out how we can protect our kids from walking into schools afraid,” he continued. “That should be the last thing on their mind when they’re walking into a school to learn and to grow and to mature and to become our future.
“And so I’m just asking for all of us to instead of picking sides and picking and pointing out all the issues, let’s find solutions. You know, let’s find real solutions.”
Drinkwitz said the team would do “something” to honor the victims of the St. Louis shooting on Saturday at South Carolina.
“Again,” he said, “we continue to place St. Louis and our community in our thoughts and prayers.”