Washington Commanders head coach Ron Rivera on Monday decried the “nationwide epidemic” of gun violence and called for a nonpartisan conversation about gun safety after rookie running back Brian Robinson Jr. was shot Sunday in Washington, D.C.
“This continues to be a nationwide epidemic, gun violence, and I think we really got to start getting to the point where you start talking about gun safety,” Rivera told reporters after the team’s practice.
“We can’t make this a partisan issue. This has to be something that everybody has to work on together, in our communities throughout the United States.”
Robinson was shot in the leg during a suspected robbery attempt in D.C. Sunday night, according to a Metropolitan Police Department incident report.
The injuries were nonlife-threatening, but Robinson was taken to a local hospital for treatment. Two suspects reportedly fled the scene.
Robinson shared on Instagram Monday that his “surgery went well,” and Rivera said he’s visited with the running back, who is still in the hospital, and confirmed his “good spirits.”
Rivera said the incident exemplifies that “this can happen anywhere and to anybody, so it’s something that we need to work on and come together.”
He said “there’s too much infighting” on the issue and called on communities to take action.
“I just think it’s about awareness. I think it’s about the community being aware and the community really just saying ‘enough is enough,’ coming together, supporting our elected officials, helping them,” Rivera said.
“The real truth of the matter is … people are dying unnecessarily. And it’s crazy how we, as one of the most advanced societies in the world, continue to have this issue.”
According to the nonprofit Gun Violence Archive, there have been nearly 30,000 gun-related deaths to date in 2022, and nearly 500 mass shootings, in which four or more people were shot or killed, excluding the shooter.
The House Oversight and Reform Committee, led by Chairwoman Carolyn Maloney (D-N.Y.), is investigating gun violence and the firearm industry in the wake of high-profile mass shootings in Uvalde, Texas, and Buffalo, N.Y.
A recent report by the committee found that major gun manufacturers earned more than $1 billion from sales of military-style assault weapons to American civilians in the last decade.
A law making incremental gun safety reforms received bipartisan support in Congress earlier this year, incentivizing states to pass “red flag” laws to remove guns from individuals deemed a threat to themselves or others, and strengthening background check systems.
However, Democratic support for wider reforms like reinstating a ban on assault rivals has gained no traction across the aisle.