Jayson Tatum had a lot on his mind Wednesday morning before the Boston Celtics faced the Miami Heat in Game 5 of the Eastern Conference finals.
The Celtics forward, like many other athletes, was asked about the tragic Uvalde, Texas shooting that left 19 elementary school children and two faculty members dead.
“What happened yesterday in Texas was devastating,” Tatum said during a video conference. “Obviously, a lot of people have been on record the last 24 hours talking about it and how it’s sad it’s becoming something that we’re getting numb to. 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 of going through the same process and same result keeps happening over and over again.”
Tatum is a father to 4-year-old Deuce — who’s constantly on the sidelines cheering on his dad — and was left feeling like so many other parents.
“As a parent, you don’t even want to try to think about that. I couldn’t even begin to imagine what those parents are dealing with and going through,” he said. “It’s just a scary time. I believe in the times that we’re living in where school isn’t safe. That’s frightening to think about.
“So, yeah, it was heavy on my mind last night and this morning. I’m sure anybody that has children just wants to hug them a little bit tighter and tell them you love them because, unfortunately, anything can happen.”
Tatum was not the only one to talk about the events as Celtics head coach Ime Udoka spoke about it Wednesday, as well.
