Sun, Mystics Use Social Media to Raise Awareness About Gun Violence

Editor’s note: This story contains details of a mass casualty event and gun violence.

The Washington Mystics’ and the Connecticut Sun’s social media accounts will spread awareness about gun violence during their game on Saturday following the Tuesday’s shooting at Robb Elementary in Uvalde, Texas.

The teams both said they will share statements offering support and inspring action around gun violence by tweeting facts about the issue and “ways to take action against this crisis that has affected so many of our communities.”

Washington and Connecticut join the other professional sports leagues and teams raising awareness on the effects of gun violence in the aftermath of Tuesday’s shooting. The NBA’s Heat also advocated for gun reform with a pregame message ahead of their Eastern Conference finals playoff matchup against the Celtics on Wednesday.

Major League Baseball’s Rays and Yankees tweeted statements offering support for their respective communities and urged lawmakers toward gun law reform in the opening game of their four-game series on Thursday. Tampa Bay also made a $50,000 donation to the Everytown for Gun Safety’s Support Fund.

On Saturday, the Chicago Sports Alliance, a collaboration of Chicago-based professional sports teams that include the Bears, the Bulls, the Cubs, the White Sox and the Blackhawks, announced they would contribute $300,000 to the Robb School Memorial Fund and the Sandy Hook Promise Foundation aimed toward making a difference in the gun violence pandemic.

In Tuesday’s shooting, an 18-year-old gunman abandoned his vehicle, entered the school with a handgun and possibly a rifle and killed 21 people, including 19 children and two adults. The shooting in Uvalde, Texas marked the 27th school shooting in the U.S. 2022 and the deadliest school shooting since Sandy Hook Elementary in December 2012.