Colts GM Chris Ballard’s pointed message on gun control in America
INDIANAPOLIS (WISH) — On Tuesday, with all 32 training camps officially now open across the National Football League, Indianapolis Colts General Manager Chris Ballard met with the local media for his annual late-July address.
Before sharing insight on former MVP quarterback Matt Ryan’s arrival or an injury update for All-Pro linebacker Darius Leonard, Ballard opened with a pointed words regarding the latest recent string of senseless mass shootings across the United States, including in central Indiana.
Here is the full excerpt from Ballard:
“On a serious note, before I start talking, about camp and our team, condolences for all the families in Greenwood. I don’t understand. To me, there is a lot of common sense and we lack it in this country and it’s a shame. You know, Highland Park (Ill.), Ulvade (Tx.), Greenwood (Ind.), Buffalo (NY), I mean when does it end? When does some common sense come to play and when does this end? When do our elected officials actually do something about it instead of their own political game. And both sides are completely wrong. I’m not anti-gun, but I’m anti-military style weapons. It blows my mind the way that an 18-year-old kid can walk in and buy an AK-15 automatic weapon. It makes no sense, zero. I just wanted to open up and it’s a shame that we live in a country that can’t come to an agreement, because of politics, on doing the right thing for our country. It makes zero sense, zero. My prayers are with them. It’s a shame that you have to get up here and start with something, eventually we’ll get up and not have to talk about this. But, right now we cannot remain silent on this issue. I mean [Golden State Warriors Head Coach] Steve Kerr said it best, we can’t become numb. That’s what we’ve done, we’ve become numb to it [mass shootings] like it’s just okay. It’s not okay. People need to be held accountable and our politicians need to be held accountable. At what point are they going to put their own self-interest aside and do the right thing for the country?”
Indianapolis Colts General Manager Chris Ballard