The Chicago Sports Alliance is comprised of the Bulls, Bears, Blackhawks, Cubs and White Sox.
The Chicago Sports Alliance, a charity made up of the five major professional sports teams in Chicago, committed $300,000 Saturday to the Robb School Memorial Fund and the Sandy Hook Promise Foundation to support “evidence-based solutions to gun violence.”
The Alliance was established in 2017 to “decrease gun violence” in the city of Chicago, and the commitment comes days after the Texas elementary school shooting that left 19 students and two teachers dead.
“Twenty-one smiles in Uvalde, Texas, lost,” the Chicago Sports Alliance said in a statement. “Just days before that, 10 smiles in Buffalo, lost. And unfortunately, across our own city, too many smiles lost to this same issue.
“It is our responsibility to those innocent lives lost to do more. We are committed to making a difference through the resources in our power to solving this gun violence epidemic. Lives depend on it. This is not a game.”
According to the Chicago Blackhawks website, the Chicago Bulls, Cubs, White Sox, Bears and Blackhawks each contributed $50,000.
“Today, the sports teams of Chicago remember all victims of gun violence across the nation and the vibrant lives that were cut short in Uvalde,” a statement released by the Alliance said. “The Chicago Sports Alliance stands together to contribute our support to finding evidence-based solutions to gun violence with a collective commitment of $300,000 to the Robb School Memorial Fund and the Sandy Hook Promise Foundation, a national nonprofit organization with a mission to end school shootings.”
Sports teams and leagues across the country have called for change after the tragedy in Uvalde.
On Thursday, the social media accounts for the New York Yankees and the Tampa Bay Rays teamed up to “offer facts about the impacts of gun violence” during their matchup in Tampa Bay.
On Friday, San Francisco Giants manager Gabe Kapler told reporters he will refrain from taking the field for the national anthem in response to the Texas school shooting.
“I don’t plan on coming out for the anthem going forward until I feel better about the direction of our country,” Kapler told reporters. “That’ll be the step. I don’t expect it to move the needle necessarily. It’s just something I feel strongly enough about to take that step.”
