Jim Boeheim became the third college basketball coach to win 900 games on Monday, as his Syracuse Orange defeated Detroit 72-68. However, he didn’t want to talk about just that after the game.
Instead, the longtime Syracuse coach used his platform in the postgame news conference to address gun control, referencing the Sandy Hook Elementary School shooting and how much television coverage he’s been watching.
“If we in this country as Americans cannot get the people who represent us to do something about firearms, we are a sad, sad society,” Boeheim said to a smattering of applause from his audience.
“I’m a hunter. I’ve hunted,” the 68-year-old continued. “I’m not talking about rifles — that’s fine. If one person in this world — NRA, president, anybody — can tell me why we need assault weapons with 30 shots in the [magazine]. … This is our fault. This is my fault, this is your fault, all your faults.”
Boeheim has never been one to shy away from his opinions over the course of a 37-year career at Syracuse, and true to form, he didn’t mince words on this occasion.
“If we can’t get this thing done, I don’t know what kind of country we have,” the coach concluded. “Because this is about us.”
Check out the entirety of Boeheim’s statement in the video below from the Syracuse Post-Standard.
