Post by Admin on Jun 8, 2022 20:42:55 GMT
American teenager Coco Gauff says sports stars should use their platform to drive social change, calling for peace and an end to gun crime after reaching the French Open final.
The 18-year-old wrote the message on a television camera after she reached a first Grand Slam singles final.
"It felt right in the moment. Hopefully it gets into the heads of people in office to change things," said Gauff.
Last week, 19 children and two teachers were killed by a gunman in Texas.
On Thursday, a gunman killed three employees and a patient at an Oklahoma hospital.
At the end of her on-court interview following her semi-final victory, Gauff walked to the camera to leave a message, as is traditional at the tournament, and wrote 'Peace - end gun violence' on the lens.
"I really didn't know what I was going to write even [in the] moments walking to the camera. It just felt right in that moment to write that," said world number 23 Gauff.
"I woke up this morning, you know, and I saw there was another shooting, and I think it's just crazy."
Gauff says she feel comfortable speaking out for social change and named a list of athletes - LeBron James, Serena Williams, Billie Jean King, Naomi Osaka and Colin Kaepernick - as her role models for using their platforms.
"I feel like a lot of times we're put in a box that people always say, 'sports and politics should stay separate'," said Gauff.
"I say yes, but also at the same time I'm a human first before I'm a tennis player.
"Of course I'm going to care about these issues and speak out about these issues.
"If anything, sports gives you the platform to maybe make that message reach more people."