US World Cup Player Bedoya Screams Pro-Gun Control Message into Field Mic During Game
It appears the U.S. women’s World Cup team no longer has the market on soccer players getting political cornered.
Alejandro Bedoya latched onto the current trendy political message after scoring an early goal in his Philadelphia Union’s 5-1 win over D.C. United on Sunday.
Bedoya opened the scoring in the game’s third minute with a precise strike from 22 yards out that found the back of the net after clipping the inside of the left post. The 32-year-old ran to a sideline microphone and shouted, “Hey Congress, do something now. End gun violence. Let’s go!”
Bedoya’s words came after a weekend that saw 29 people killed in two separate massacres in El Paso, Texas, and Dayton, Ohio.
His message could be heard clearly on Fox Sports 1’s broadcast of the game.
Philadelphia Union soccer player Alejandro Bedoya scores a goal in tonight’s game against D.C. United, runs over to a field microphone and shouts, “Congress, do something now. End gun violence.”
Via FS1 pic.twitter.com/7WH4PA08cs— Kyle Griffin (@kylegriffin1) August 5, 2019
Bedoya has made 66 appearances for the U.S. National Team, including playing in all four games in the 2014 World Cup, the last time the U.S. has competed in the tournament.
The midfielder expanded on his message after the game.
“It’s absurd, man. I’m not going to sit idly and watch this stuff happen and not say something,” Bedoya told reporters, according to ESPN.
“This stuff affects me. I got kids. I can’t be the only one here — all you guys, I’m sure feel the same way,” he said.
Philadelphia Union manager Jim Curtin supported his captain’s message to Congress.
“I’m on Alejandro’s team in support of gun control. … 250 shootings this year, I’m on his side,” he told reporters.
“A lot of people will tell me now and tell Ale (Alejandro) to stick to sports and all the stupid lines that come up, but it’s crazy. It’s crazy in our country right now, and I think it needs to change, as well.”
Jim Curtin on Alejandro Bedoya: “I’m on his side.” pic.twitter.com/vU2zI1gcuP
— Joe Tansey (@JTansey90) August 5, 2019
Curtin has made political statements before, coming out in favor of national anthem protests by former NFL quarterback Colin Kaepernick and women’s soccer star Megan Rapinoe.
Bedoya and his coach offered no specifics on what Congress should do, other than vague statements on gun control. They are apparently unaware of statistics that show guns are used for self-defense more often than they are used for crimes.
“Almost all national survey estimates indicate that defensive gun uses by victims are at least as common as offensive uses by criminals, with estimates of annual uses ranging from about 500,000 to more than 3 million, in the context of about 300,000 violent crimes involving firearms in 2008,” a 2013 study by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention reported.
It’s not at all unreasonable to extrapolate from that data that more lives are saved by gun ownership than are taken because of it. Any crackdown on guns will have the unintended consequence of leaving more people unable to defend themselves, likely costing lives.
The Western Journal has reached out to Major League Soccer for comment but has not yet received a response. We will update this article if and when we do.
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