Dak Prescott doesn’t have children, but the elementary school shooting in Uvalde, Texas, has shaken him. The Cowboys quarterback admits it has made him anxious about becoming a parent.
“We’re talking about children,’’ Prescott said, via DavidMoore of the Dallas Morning News. “We’re talking about the future. I mean, I don’t have kids, (but I) can’t imagine having to send my kid to school with that anxiety. Honestly, it makes me fearful to have children, and that’s not right. That’s sad.
“I don’t care if you’re an athlete or not. We’re talking about children. We’re talking about the future. I mean, I don’t have kids and can’t imagine having to send my kid to school with that anxiety.”
Uvalde, which is 380 miles southwest of the Cowboys’ headquarters in Frisco, was the site of the deadliest Texas school shooting in history. An 18-year-old gunman fatally shot 19 fourth-grade students and two teachers at Robb Elementary School.
It is the third mass shooting in the U.S. in a matter of weeks.
On Wednesday afternoon, Prescott’s Faith, Fight, Finish Foundation hosted a previously scheduled town hall with law enforcement, education and mental health officials in Arlington. The dialogue was intended to engage those in the community in uncomfortable conversations to further understanding.
“I think too many times we run from conflict,’’ Prescott said. “It’s the conversations. The political leaders, the law enforcement and our community, the ones they are serving, getting them face to face and allowing them to have these open dialogues of why they feel uncomfortable or don’t feel protected or what this anxiety or stigma is that’s pulling us apart.
“Let’s bring it to the forefront so we can have these uncomfortable conversations but can get somewhere from them and not continue to show division like we are.’’
