Someone who knows gun violence personally, Miami Heat’s Wayne Ellington, has decided to use his grief to help someone else and hopefully turn their life around.
Gun violence is becoming all too common in the world. With people dying at the hands of family and police, people in prominent positions have made it their best efforts to try and use their stardom for good. Athletes like Wayne Ellington, are doing something more than kneeling on the field, he’s decided to take his voice into classrooms and hopefully change the course of some kid’s life.
“You don’t have to take that direction,” Ellington says, as dozens of kids stare right at him, many of them nodding. “There’s so many other opportunities out there for you. There’s so many other different ways to solve a problem, to solve a conflict. We need to come together as people. We need to love each other. We need to find ways to help each other. That’s what I’m here to do.”
Ellington’s father was murdered just two years ago after an argument gone wrong.
“Still grieving and it’s still fresh,” Ellington said. “But I just realized I’ve got to do as much as I can to make a difference. Every day, it’s happening to a different family, to somebody’s son, to somebody’s father. So this stage I’m on, this platform I’m on, I want to make use of it as much as I can for as long as I’m on it to raise as much awareness as I can.”
It’s refreshing seeing these athletes active in their communities. Understandably, the world has gone array in the last few years, but there are some good doers left in the world. All it takes is each of us to do our small part and the impact collectively will be large.
