NBA's Kings Coach Turns Post-Game Conference To Mass Shooting: 'It's Sick'
By Kelly Coffey-Behrens on October 26, 2023 at 12:50 PM EDT
Basketball coach Mike Brown turned his post-game conference to discuss the unfortunate events that took place in Maine late Wednesday night.
The country was left grieving as a mass shooter killed at least 18 people, injuring several others, late Wednesday night. The suspect remains at large and is considered armed and dangerous. A murder warrant has been issued for his arrest. He is facing eight counts of murder, Maine State Police Col. William G. Ross said.
Coach Mike Brown Says He 'Doesn't Even Want To Talk Basketball'
Sacramento Kings coach Mike Brown did not want to discuss basketball following their win Wednesday evening. Instead, he turned every question to the mass shooting that occurred in Maine.
Trying to hold back tears, the coach began by saying, "First thing I'd like to say, I don't know everything that's going on, I'm not that smart but I know we as a country have got to do something."
"I'm walking over here and someone says there's a mass shooting in Maine with 22 dead at a grocery store, at a f-----g grocery store. Man if that doesn't touch anybody, then I don't even know."
Reports have now confirmed that 18 people have died, and the shootings took place at a bowling alley and a local bar. Seven people were killed at the Sparetime Recreation bowling alley, and eight people were shot and killed at Schemengees Bar and Grille. Three people died at the hospital.
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"I don't even know what to say. That's absolutely disgusting, and it's sad," Coach Brown continued. "It's sad that we sit here and watch this happen time after time after time after time and nobody does anything about it."
"It's a sad day. It's a sad day for our country, it's a sad day for this world and until we decide to do something about it, this is going to keep happening, and our kids aren't going to be able to enjoy what the United States is about because we don't know how to fix a problem that's right in front of us," he added.
Coach Brown Avoids Basketball Questions To Talk Mass Shooting
Someone asked Coach Brown about the basketball game and the NBA, to which he responded with, "The players that lead this league, Chris Paul, Lebron James to name a few, that stand up and use their platform the right way, and you hope that we continue. Obviously, it hasn't done much because for something like that to happen tonight, that's just sick. That's just suck. I don't know what else to say. That's literally sick.
Another reporter again tried to ask about the basketball game, to which Coach Brown responded with, “I don’t even want to talk basketball. We played a game. It was fun. Obviously, we won, but if we can’t do anything to fix this, it’s over. It’s over for our country for this to happen time after time.”
Robert Card Remains At Large, Considered 'Armed and Dangerous'
On October 25 at approximately 6:56 p.m. ET, the Auburn communications center received a 911 call of a male shooting in the Sparetime Recreation Center, a bowling alley located in the town of Lewiston, Maine.
Then, around 7:08 p.m. ET, the communications center continued to receive multiple 911 calls about an active shooter inside a local bar, Schemengees Bar and Grille, in the same town of Lewiston.
The suspect, Robert Card, remains at large and is considered armed and dangerous. A murder warrant has been issued for his arrest. He is facing eight counts of murder, Maine State Police Col. William G. Ross said.
