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Texas School Shooting; NRA Convention Goes On; Russia's War on Ukraine; Depp versus Heard. Aired 3-4a ET
Aired May 28, 2022 - 03:00 ET
THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
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PAULA NEWTON, CNN ANCHOR AND CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): Welcome to our viewers here in the United States and all around the world. I'm Paula Newton.
Anger and demands for accountability after top Texas police officials admit to multiple, not just one, multiple missteps in the response to the mass shooting that left 19 children and two teachers dead.
Now among them, the decision to wait more than an hour to confront the gunman holed up in a classroom. Now think of this, for much of that time, police waited in the hallway. There were children in the school. That gunman fired more shots as those children inside the classroom called 9-1-1.
As Jason Carroll reports, families of the victims, of course, want answers.
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GOV. GREG ABBOTT (R-TX): I was misled. I am livid about what happened.
JASON CARROLL, CNN NATIONAL CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): Tonight, Texas Governor Greg Abbott aiming his ire at law enforcement.
ABBOTT: My expectation is that the law enforcement leaders that are leading the investigations which includes the Texas Rangers and the FBI, they get to the bottom of every fact with absolute certainty.
CARROLL (voice-over): After damning new admissions from Texas authorities.
MCCRAW: It was the wrong decision, period.
CARROLL (voice-over): The incident commander making the decision not to immediately enter the classroom the gunman was in.
MCCRAW: A decision was made that this was a barricaded subject. The situation, there was time to retrieve the keys and wait for a tactical team with the equipment to go ahead and breach the door and take on the subject at that point. CARROLL (voice-over): Officials explained how the shooter got into the school.
MCCRAW: Well, we knew the shooter entered, Ramos, was propped open by a teacher.
CARROLL (voice-over): Investigators clarifying the timeline as police arrived.
MCCRAW: The three initial police officers that arrived went directly to the door and two receive grazing wounds at that time from the suspect while the door was closed; 11:37, there was more gunfire, another 16 rounds were fired; 11:37, one at 11:37 and 16 seconds, 11:38, 11:40, 11:44 and 11:51, a police sergeant and USB agents started to arrive.
At 12:03, the officers continued to arrive in the hallway and there were as many as 19 officers at that time in that hallway.
CARROLL (voice-over): Officers did not enter the room until a janitor provided keys.
MCCRAW: They breached the door using keys that they're able to get from the janitor. Because both doors were locked, though both of the classrooms that he shot into were locked when officers arrived. They killed the suspect at that time.
CARROLL (voice-over): In that crucial time, survivors inside both classrooms, made desperate calls to 9-1-1.
MCCRAW: She identified herself, whispered, she's in room 112. At 12:10, she called back in room 12, advised there are multiple dead. 12:13, again, she called on the phone; again at 12:16, she has called back and said there was eight to nine students alive.
CARROLL (voice-over): Minutes later, a student called.
MCCRAW: Student child called back, was told to stay on the line and be very quiet. She told 9-1-1 he shut the door. At approximate 12:43 and 12:47, she asked 9-1-1 to please send the police now.
CARROLL (voice-over): Alfred Garza says his daughter, Amerie, may have been one of those students who tried to call 9-1-1. She was killed during the shooting.
ALFRED GARZA, AMERIE JO'S FATHER: Something's got to be done now. You know, what are we going?
Where do we go from here?
You know, you were wrong. What do we do now?
You know, it is my question, what are we going to do?
CARROLL: The accountability you're talking about.
GARZA: The accountability, you know. Somebody's got to be responsible.
CARROLL (voice-over): Warning signs missed.
MCCRAW: That Ramos asked his sister to help him buy him a gun. She flatly refused. That was in September of '21.
CARROLL (voice-over): With social media group chats and posts as far back as last February, offering red flags.
MCCRAW: He had Instagram, a four-group chat and it was discussed that Ramos being a school shooter. That was on February 28th of 2022.
On March 14th, there was an Instagram posting by the subject in quotations, "10 more days."
User replied, "Are you going to shoot up a school or something?"
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MCCRAW: The subject replied, "No. And stop asking dumb questions and you will see."
CARROLL: The governor here says he expects new laws to be passed to address what happened here, asking both the FBI and the Texas Rangers to investigate every law enforcement official that was involved with what happened -- Jason Carroll, CNN, Uvalde, Texas.
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NEWTON: Now meantime, governor Abbott insists the response to the shooting should focus on mental health and not gun background checks. And that's something the Democratic state senator who represents Uvalde calls sickening. Roland Gutierrez appeared on CNN to detail his fight for gun reforms.
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STATE SEN. ROLAND GUTIERREZ (D-TX): There is some responsibility that should be held. There should be some accountability and that accountability is where the policymakers who controls this state. I asked for a red flag bill in 2019 and that bill us was killed in the committee. It went nowhere.
In 2019, they passed open carry. The last thing I said on my floor speech, the last thing I said was, I said, because of this bill, kids are going to die. Never in my wildest dreams did I think that that would happen, that that bit of hyperbole would happen in my own district, never did I think.
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NEWTON: Despite the mass shooting Tuesday, the top gun lobby in the U.S., the National Rifle Association, opened its annual convention on Friday in Houston, just a few hours down the road from Uvalde. As CNN's Ryan Young reports, tensions flared inside and outside the event. (BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
RYAN YOUNG, CNN NATIONAL CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): Former President Donald Trump rallying with the National Rifle Association as it holds annual meeting just days after 21 people including 19 children were massacred in a school shooting in Uvalde.
DONALD TRUMP, FORMER PRESIDENT: The existence in evil in our world is not a reason to disarm law-abiding citizens who know how to use their weapon and can protect a lot of people. The existence of evil is one of the very best reasons to arm law-abiding citizens.
YOUNG: Instead of new gun laws, the former president calling for more focus on mental health and school security.
TRUMP: What we need now is a top-to-bottom security overhaul at schools all across our country.
YOUNG: Those arguments echoed by others who address the NRA's annual convention in Houston, including Texas Senator Ted Cruz.
SEN. TED CRUZ (R-TX): We must not react to evil and tragedy by abandoning the constitution or infringing on the rights of our law- abiding citizens.
YOUNG: The NRA has condemned the Uvalde shooting but decided to press ahead with its gathering, though several musical performers and elected officials canceled appearances in the wake of the shooting.
PROTESTERS: NRA. Go away. NRA. Go away.
YOUNG: Across the street, a crowd of protesters gathered outside the convention site.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: I'm looking at you, NRA, today. I don't want any more of my peers to die in a school.
YOUNG: Outraged over the gun group's influence and high profile Republican speakers the group attracted.
PROTESTERS: Shame on you. Shame on you. Shame on you.
YOUNG: Former Texas Congressman Beto O'Rourke, the state's Democratic nominee for governor, joined those outside the venue calling for action.
BETO O'ROURKE (D), TEXAS GUBERNATORIAL NOMINEE: The time for us to stop Uvalde was right after Sandy Hook. If you have done anything good, it is the fact that you have brought us here together and we are committing ourselves to act.
YOUNG: Texas Governor Greg Abbott initially scheduled to appear in person but sent a video message instead.
GOV. GREG ABBOTT (R), TEXAS: There are thousands of laws on the books across the country that limit the owning or using of firearms, laws that have not stopped madmen from carrying out evil acts on innocent people in peaceful communities.
YOUNG: You can see the signs that arrived here. There's a lot of passion here from these protesters. At one point, the crowd here spoke (ph) over 1,000, especially when Donald Trump took the stage. There were people outside, who were screaming at the top of their lungs, hoping to have the former president hear their cries for change.
That now has moved on. As people say, they want to take that passion in the streets to change what's happening in this country -- Ryan Young, CNN, Houston, Texas.
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NEWTON: Ashton P. Woods is the co-founder of Black Lives Matter in Houston, Texas, and he's been involved in organizing those protests against the NRA that we were just looking at right there. He is joining me now live from Houston.
And I really thank you for being here on the end of what I'm sure was a long day. We heard some things there in that report already from the NRA conference.
But you know, just to repeat some of them, you've heard them all before, right?
Here's the -- what they're saying.
Their, quote, "What stops armed bad guys is armed good guys."
You heard it from Ted Cruz.
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NEWTON: "The existence of evil is one of the very best reasons to arm law-abiding citizens."
And then some very passionate pleas saying, "Hell, no, we will not go and you will not take them."
So given all this, it is surprising to me that, outside there in Houston, that some people are now saying that there is hope, that there might be a middle way, that some kind of reform is possible.
What do you think?
And what does that best case scenario look like right now?
ASHTON P. WOODS, CO-FOUNDER, BLACK LIVES MATTER, HOUSTON: The best case scenario -- first of all, thank you for having me. The best case scenario right now would be to have governor Abbott call a special session to repeal the laws that were passed in 2019 and last year in 2021 that made what happened in Uvalde easier to happen.
We can call it evil if we want to. But this is just as bad as governor Abbott reducing this down to a mental health issue, where we don't have a great mental health care system. I'm sorry, non-existent mental health care system. We use our jails to address mental health.
But we must address the lack of health care access. We must address gun violence in a way that doesn't scapegoat the fact that Ted Cruz uses rhetoric that got children killed. Governor Abbott passed laws that got children killed. They must be held accountable and they must do their jobs.
NEWTON: Mr. Woods, though, even Daniel Hogg, on our air, a survivor from Parkland, said look, if everyone's just talking over each other, a compromise won't be possible. He's optimistic.
Are you optimistic that that compromise is possible?
And what does it look like?
Is it only on background checks?
Is it maybe moving the age?
What could be possible here?
WOODS: Well, you know, a lot of times as a Black person I'm still thinking about the 87-year-old woman who was murdered in Buffalo in a grocery store, who lived through Jim Crow. And she was told she had to wait. She was told she had to wait for incremental change.
Our children deserve better. These are Black and Brown kids, AAPI kids. And even our white kids, our children in general, should not have to wait for incremental change. So yes, compromise is important.
As an activist who goes to the Texas legislature and works with elected officials to actually author bills and get them passed, from my experience, what we need is background checks. Yes, we need a ban on automatic weapons. Yes, we need all of the above. And we need it all to happen right away.
We can't just put one little piece in here, one little piece in there, because, while we can't stop all bad things from happening, we need to make sure we take a holistic approach and go with an all of the above strategy.
NEWTON: You know this is true, that now that law enforcement response, unfortunately, was detailed, right, in the last 24 hours, it was painfully inadequate, so painful for those families to hear it.
And now you must worry, though, that that will again allow the gun lobby to deflect. You know, the bottom line is an 18-year old was allowed to buy battlefield weapons to slaughter children.
And yet we heard it again from the NRA, right?
They're saying -- they're deflecting, saying it was a law enforcement response.
How do you counter that?
Because I can tell you, it does not look like this will mean fewer guns in America.
WOODS: Well, it's not about necessarily attacking the Second Amendment. I believe in the Second Amendment right. What I don't believe in is having automatic weapons on the streets. For anybody. Right?
We need to demilitarize the police. We need to make sure that people don't have access to AR-15s or guns that shoot bullets that shatter. Right?
We're talking about children who are unrecognizable. We're talking about people who were unrecognizable after the Pulse Orlando shooting.
Why do we need these things on the street?
When governor Abbott passed into law through special session last year the ideology carried by Republicans and they're rated by the NRA that you can have a weapon open carry on campus. You can get a weapon without a license. You don't have to have a background check. There is blood on their hands.
So it really isn't a matter of convincing them about what they won't change their minds on. They do what they want anyway. Republicans and Democrats, in terms of voters, all agree that we need to do something, just like we all agree that abortion is a right.
But Republicans still want to legislate women's bodies and take away their personal autonomy. So the reality is we've got to vote them out.
NEWTON: Well, Ashton P. Woods, thank you for your input there on what continues to be a very strenuous debate not just in front of the conference there at the NRA but right across the country. Appreciate your time.
WOODS: Thank you.
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NEWTON: Now Ukraine says it urgently needs more firepower to stop Russia's advance. Long-range weapons like these could now dramatically alter the battlefield if the West agrees to send them. We'll have that after the break.
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NEWTON: Russian media is reporting an ominous new development in Ukraine. The Moscow-installed puppet government in Kherson says it has now officially closed its borders with Ukraine.
Remember, Ukraine says all of Kherson's exits to Ukraine have been unofficially blocked for weeks now anyway.
Meantime, Russian troops have been slowly advancing in the Donbas, fighting around the key city of Sievierodonetsk. And it is described as fierce. Ukraine denies it is surrounded. Ukraine also says Russian crews are repairing damaged railways that send crucial supplies to Russian troops in Donbas.
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NEWTON: Despite the enormous difficulties, though, Ukraine's president is confident his military will prevail.
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VOLODYMYR ZELENSKYY, UKRAINIAN PRESIDENT (through translator): That is why we have to increase our defense, increase our resistance and Donbas will be Ukraine again, even if Russia will bring all suffering and ruination to Donbas. We will rebuild every town, every community. There is no real alternative.
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NEWTON: Keep in mind Sievierodonetsk is a crucial city if Russia hopes to subjugate the entire Donbas region. And the neighboring town of Lysychansk appears to be the Russian army's next objective. We get more now from CNN's Nick Paton Walsh.
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NICK PATON WALSH, CNN INTERNATIONAL SECURITY EDITOR: Here's how it feels when Russia is coming. This is Sievierodonetsk in Putin's crosshairs. Only one bridge left, we are told; almost anything that moves is shelled.
Across that river, next in line is here, this twin city, Lysychansk. The remnants of its once 100,000 people facing an enemy they rarely see. Only here can you feel the loathing. The police are here helping evacuate the last needy, essentially, to collect as many people with disabilities and need as much help as they can to get them out.
For Ekaterina, age 74, the war so far has swelled around her one room flat. It is time for her and her husband to go, once and perhaps for all.
EKATERINA, LYSYCHANSK RESIDENT (through translator): I didn't collect any of my things. I don't know where I will live. It's better they kill me. You know, I have nowhere to hide. We have on room. I lie opposite the shelling. In the last minute, I thought if I'm going to suffer like this, better they kill me.
WALSH: These moments are the correct way to measure Putin's invasion. Not in tanks lost, alliances forged or buildings hammered but in twilight days, totally uprooted in tiny moments of inconsolable panic. EKATERINA (through translator): When is this grief going to end?
WALSH: This briefcase, carefully packed by Valentin, contains all documents for whatever is that comes next.
Closer to Russian-backed separatists areas of Ukraine, loyalties are not simple. This large young family, which like so much of the town has relatives in Russia but no gas or electricity, seems to prefer an outdoor stove in the basement.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE (through translator): What's the choice?
Live on the street?
WALSH: They do not seem to perturbed despite the blasts and say they want peace. Sometimes you feel they don't want you to know who's side they are on, especially this man when we mention America.
VALENTIN, LYSYCHANSK RESIDENT (through translator): You arm us, so we fight Russia in our country?
Have I got that right?
I don't understand this war. We're afraid of death.
WALSH: But still, their world is underground, with fine dust in the damp air. Their kitten born into the war, their children's sleep broken by shelling.
At the cemetery, the cost is starker. It has three types of mass graves. This line already filled with some of the 160 dead, whose relatives cannot bury them yet.
This one, half filled with the bodies collected daily. Their names recorded on each bag and this one, yawning empty, a sign of the savagery they know is to come -- Nick Paton Walsh, CNN, Lysychansk, Ukraine.
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NEWTON: Now there are widespread expectations that the U.S. will soon supply Ukraine with sophisticated rocket systems that can strike Russian targets hundreds of kilometers away. And that's already raised alarms in Moscow.
A Russian TV host, who often mirrors the Kremlin's views, called it a red line that would provoke a Russian response.
Earlier I spoke with CNN military analyst Colonel Cedric Leighton about how this formidable weapon could dramatically alter the battlefield in Eastern Ukraine. Listen.
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COL. CEDRIC LEIGHTON (RET.), CNN MILITARY ANALYST: They could range up to 300 kilometers or 186 miles. They could potentially get the Ukrainians into territory that is Russia proper and beyond the area that the Russians occupied in Ukraine.
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LEIGHTON: So that may have some political and geopolitical ramifications. But from a weapons and tactics standpoint, these weapons are highly significant and, quite frankly, necessary for the Ukrainians to have, in order for them to regain the advantage in the east.
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NEWTON: You can watch more of my interview with Colonel Leighton coming up in about two hours from now.
I'm Paula Newton. I want to thank you for watching. For our international viewers, "AFRICAN VOICES: CHANGEMAKERS" is next. But viewers in the U.S. and Canada, don't go anywhere. I will have much more news right after a break.
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NEWTON: And welcome back to our viewers here in the United States and Canada. I am Paula Newton and you are watching CNN NEWSROOM.
Texas officials are facing growing outrage in the town of Uvalde after admitting huge mistakes were made in the response to Tuesday's horrific shooting at an elementary school.
Authorities revealed that 77 minutes elapsed between the time the gunman entered the school to when a tactical team finally entered the classroom, where the 18-year old had barricaded himself with students and two teachers.
We've also learned that up to 19 officers were actually waiting in the hallway for almost 15 minutes, while children locked inside that classroom called 9-1-1, pleading for help. Police say they did not storm the rooms because the commanding officer thought the active shooter phase of the incident was actually over.
Alfred Garza was outside the school as the massacre unfolded, desperately hoping his child was OK. But his little girl, 10-year-old Amerie Jo, was among the 19 students killed that day. He told CNN's Erica Hill he can't believe it took police so long to enter the building.
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ALFRED GARZA, AMERIE JO'S FATHER: It doesn't take a genius to figure out that it just took too long to get in there. And had they gotten in there sooner and somebody would have taken immediate action, we might have more of those children here today, including my daughter.
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NEWTON: Imagine how painful it is for him. All 21 victims killed in the shooting have now been identified and many of their funeral services are set to begin next week. CNN's Boris Sanchez now has their stories.
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BORIS SANCHEZ, CNN CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): Three days after 21 innocent lives were taken, we're learning more about the loved ones this small town is grieving.
DORA MENDOZA, AMERIE JO GARZA'S GRANDMOTHER: Don't forget them, please. Do something about it, I beg you.
SANCHEZ (voice-over): Miranda Mathis was 11 years old. A friend of her mother's told "The Washington Post," Miranda was a fun, spunky, bright girl.
Ten-year-old Rogelio Torres, his aunt telling CNN affiliate KSET, he was a, quote, "very intelligent, hardworking and helpful person. He'll be missed and never forgotten."
Maite Rodriguez, also 10 years old, her mother, Anna, says Maite dreamed of becoming a marine biologist and wanted to attend college at Texas A&M. In a touching Facebook tribute, Anna calls her daughter, quote, "sweet, charismatic, loving, caring, loyal, free, ambitious, funny, silly, goal driven and her best friend."
Other victims' names have also been confirmed. Layla Salazar, 11 years old; Makenna Lee Elrod, Alithia Ramirez and Jayce Luevanos, all just 10 years old.
And in a tragic twist, the husband of Irma Garcia, one of the murdered teachers, has also died.
According to the Archdiocese of San Antonio, Joe Garcia suffered a heart attack after news of his wife's death and passed away on Thursday. The couple had been married more than 24 years and were high school sweethearts.
EDUARDO MORALES, SACRED HEART UVALDE: They came to mass every Sunday.
SANCHEZ: Father Eduardo Morales of Sacred Heart Church in Uvalde knew the family well.
MORALES: I told the community that in my own family when we have had a death, that it's church and prayer that has gotten us through all this. Not that it takes the pain away.
SANCHEZ: The Garcias among a list of names of lives cut too short: Eva Mireles, Amerie Garza, Uziyah Garcia, Xavier Lopez, Jose Flores Jr., Lexi Rubio, Annabell Guadalupe Rodriguez, Jacklyn Cazares, Tess Mata, Nevaeh Bravo, Ellie Garcia, Jailah Silguero, Elijah Torres, names that will forever be etched in the memories of those touched and affected by this horrible tragedy.
GEORGE RODRIGUEZ, JOSE FLORES JR.'S GRANDFATHER: The state, the nation, show him to the world. I want everybody to know him. When he died, I died with him.
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NEWTON: That was CNN's Boris Sanchez with that report.
On Friday, the community came together in a vigil to honor the lives that were lost.
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NEWTON: CNN's Gary Tuchman now who is in Uvalde and has more on how those who died are being remembered.
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GARY TUCHMAN, CNN CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): Here in downtown Uvalde, Texas, a church choir offering comfort in a city park, right next to a makeshift memorial that has been set up. This memorial is very sad but also very necessary.
This is a very small city but thousands of people have turned out here to take a look, to be together, to offer comfort to each other. There are 21 crosses with the names of the 19 children and the two teachers who were killed.
Right here the cross of Eva Mireles. She was one of the teachers. You can see the blooms, the flowers and the messages written on her heart.
"You are a hero. You are truly a hero. I love you."
And then the children's crosses. Annabelle Rodriguez has Minnie Mouse here, candles, dolls, flowers.
And here, "You are missed," from her friends.
And this from a cousin that says, "My prima" -- prima is cousin in Spanish -- "I miss you. Until we meet again."
This is desperately sad but there are so many people here who've come not just from the city but from other parts of Texas and other parts of the United States to offer comfort to many family and friends who are here right now, who are in mourning -- this is Gary Tuchman, CNN, in Uvalde, Texas.
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NEWTON: Now if you would like to provide financial support or blood donations to victims in communities of mass shootings, including the Texas school shooting, please go to cnn.com/impact. You'll find several ways to help. It's an incredible resource that you can look into.
And we'll be right back with more in a moment.
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NEWTON: Now for an update on the baby formula shortage in the United States. And yes, there is still a shortage. Health Department officials have now invoked the Defense Production Act. That's for the third time.
It's meant to help suppliers quickly deliver raw materials like sweeteners to manufacturers who are trying to speed up formula production.
Meantime, a spokesperson for the Bannon (ph) food company tells CNN half a million cans of its specialty formula could -- should in fact get to families in the first half of July. I know it doesn't seem nearly soon enough. And a Nestle spokesperson says 40 percent of a Gerber formula for babies allergic to cow's milk will be shipped to retail stores by Sunday.
Meantime, a company that tracks prices says about 70 percent of baby formula was in fact out of stock across the United States at some point last week.
A jury began deliberating in Johnny Depp's $50 million defamation lawsuit against his ex-wife, Amber Heard. Lawyers for both movie stars delivering closing arguments after the court in Fairfax, Virginia, heard more than 100 hours of testimony over six weeks. CNN's Jean Casarez has more.
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JEAN CASAREZ, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Friday was all about closing arguments in the civil defamation case of Johnny Depp versus Amber Heard. Depp had testified during the trial that he never abused his now ex-wife Amber Heard.
But the motion picture studios won't touch him because of her allegations of domestic violence and domestic abuse. The attorney for Depp, Camille Vasquez, argued during closing about the alleged inconsistencies of Amber Heard.
And she took that testimony and she compared it to the testimony of other witnesses, saying that there were just many, many contradictions.
Now this case was born because of a 2018 op-ed published by "The Washington Post" at the hand and direction of Amber Heard, saying that she represented, as a public figure, someone who had been abused, domestic abuse.
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CAMILLE VASQUEZ, DEPP ATTORNEY: On May 27th, 2016, Ms. Heard walked into a courthouse in Los Angeles, California, to get a no notice ex parte restraining order against Mr. Depp and in doing so ruined his life by falsely telling the world that she was a survivor of domestic abuse at the hands of Mr. Depp.
Today, on May 27th, 2022, exactly six years later, we ask you to give Mr. Depp his life back by telling the world that Mr. Depp is not the abuser Ms. Heard said he is and hold Ms. Heard accountable for her life.
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BEN ROTTENBORN, HEARD ATTORNEY: Mr. Depp simply cannot prove to you that he never once abused Amber.
[03:45:00]
ROTTENBORN: And if you don't know, you have to return a verdict for Ms. Heard. A ruling against Amber here sends a message that, no matter what you do as an abuse victim, you always have to do more. No matter what you document you always have to document more.
No matter whom you tell, you always have to tell more people. No matter mow honest you are about your own imperfections and your own shortcomings in a relationship, you need to be perfect in order for people to believe you. Don't send that message.
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CASAREZ: Amber Heard has a counterclaim of defamation against Johnny Depp. They are both asking for compensatory and punitive damages. The jury won't return, though, on Tuesday to deliberate because of this long holiday weekend -- Jean Casarez, CNN, New York.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
NEWTON: The sports world is reacting to the Texas school shooting. Coming up, we'll look at who's speaking out, what they're saying to politicians in Washington.
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NEWTON: Some prominent figures in the sports world have been making headlines by taking a public stand after that horrific Texas school shooting. Now San Francisco Giants manager Gabe Kapler is one. He is refusing to
come out onto the field for the national anthem. Kapler told reporters he'll keep up that protest until America changes for the better.
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GABE KAPLER, SAN FRANCISCO GIANTS MANAGER: I just don't plan on coming out for the anthem going forward until I feel like there's -- I feel better about the direction of our country. So that'll be the step.
I don't expect it to move the needle necessarily. It's just something that I feel strongly enough about to take that step.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
NEWTON: Now he's just one voice among many. "CNN SPORT's" Andy Scholes looks at how other athletes and teams are now demanding action from Washington.
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ANDY SCHOLES, CNN SPORT CORRESPONDENT: In the wake of what happened in Uvalde, sports figures and teams have been using their voice to advocate for change. The Warriors head coach, Steve Kerr, on the day of the shooting, was very emotional, demanding politicians do more.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
STEVE KERR, GOLDEN STATE WARRIORS HEAD COACH: When are we going to do something?
I'm tired -- I'm so tired of getting up here and offering condolences to the devastated families that are out there. We are being held hostage by 50 senators in Washington, who refuse to even put it to a vote, despite what we, the American people, want.
They won't vote on it because they want to hold onto their own power. It's pathetic. I've had enough.
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SCHOLES (voice-over): On Wednesday, the Heat and Celtics held a moment of silence for the lives lost. And then their public address announcer delivered this message.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: The Heat urges you to contact your state senators by calling (202) 224-3121 to leave a message, demanding their support for common sense gun laws. You can also make change at the ballot box. Visit heat.com/vote to register and let your voice be heard this fall.
SCHOLES (voice-over): The Warriors, a very similar message advocating for common sense gun laws before game 5 of the Western Conference finals. Kerr again speaking out that day, saying, "We as a country need to start thinking of gun control as a public health issue."
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KERR: For whatever reason, it's a political issue. But it's really a public health issue. So as soon as we can just shift the dynamic to this being a public health issue, then you get momentum.
So what I'm asking people to do is to get involved in their local communities. I've got lots of friends who are Democrats, Republicans. And all I know is that they all want gun violence to go away.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
SCHOLES (voice-over): The Yankees and the Rays in Major League Baseball meanwhile, teaming up. Instead of tweeting about their game, they presented facts about gun violence in our country.
The Rays adding, "This cannot become normal. We cannot become numb. We cannot look the other way. We all know, if nothing changes, nothing changes.
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SCHOLES: Dodgers manager, Dave Roberts, meanwhile, says politicians have failed the country.
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DAVE ROBERTS, L.A. DODGERS MANAGER: How there can be a bipartisan consensus on an issue like this is very disheartening. It's very irresponsible by our nation's leaders. And something needs to be done and be proactive about it because like everyone has said, enough is enough.
When is enough enough?
(END VIDEO CLIP)
SCHOLES: LeBron James tweeting that, "There simply has to be change. Has to be."
While NFL Network's Rich Eisen made a passionate plea for something to be done.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
RICH EISEN, NFL NETWORK: We cannot give up. We cannot give up as a society and we cannot give up on giving our two cents and keeping the pressure on those in power, who do nothing about it.
Children murdered in their classroom, murdered, in their classroom. And you're already seeing the responses from those in power, who refuse to do anything about it, saying it's about anything else other than easy legal access to assault weaponry.
(END VIDEO CLIP) [03:55:00]
SCHOLES: And sports teams and figures have in the past been very powerful helping to enact social change. And they're once again using their platform to try to make a difference.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
NEWTON: That was our Andy Scholes there. Keep in mind it's only been two weeks since 10 people were gunned down in a Buffalo supermarket. They haven't even finished burying those victims yet.
I am Paula Newton. I want to thank you for your company. I'll be right back here in the CNN NEWSROOM in just a moment. Stay with us.
