Colorado men’s basketball coach Tad Boyle opened the press conference Monday night after the NCAA tournament game addressing the mass shooting that took place a few miles from the school’s campus in Boulder, saying that the tragedy left a “void” in his stomach or loss.
“First of all, before talking about this basketball game, I thought about it in the locker room before the game, how the events that took place today in Boulder, Colorado happened, and I don’t have any other details that I know that went being a tragic and tragic situation, ”Boyle said after the Buffaloes 71-53 NCAA second-round loss to Florida State. “Put basketball in its proper place.
“And I win or lose tonight, I just felt a void in my stomach. Another act of senseless violence that we have experienced as a country many, many times. So it puts this game in perspective. It certainly puts perspective. the loss.
“But even if we had won that game and celebrated going to Sweet 16, we would have put up an obstacle. So my heart goes out to the affected families and those who lost their lives.”
The shooting at King Soopers supermarket left ten people dead early Monday, including the police officer who was the first to respond to the scene, authorities reported.
Police arrested a suspect but did not reveal his name or any details about the shooting at an evening press conference.
Colorado has been out of Boulder and Indianapolis for the NCAA Men’s Basketball Tournament since last week. Boyle said some members of the Buffaloes received alerts on their phones about the shot about an hour before they reached the arena, but said he did not talk to his team about the tragedy before the start.
“I talked to a couple of my assistants about it and we felt it would probably get better, we didn’t have any details,” he said. “There was really nothing to talk about, and I talked about it after the game, again, from a perspective point of view.
“But the mentality of your team when they prepare for a game is sometimes fragile. I didn’t want to complicate their minds too much because we had to go play. We wouldn’t go to play. So I decided to wait until later. of the party to address it with them, and I did. “
Boyle said he didn’t think the shooting weighed on his team’s mind during the game, but added: “I could be totally wrong and not be based on that. The only thing I won’t do is sit here and apologize for the way I play. I’m going to take responsibility. “
Guard McKinley Wright acknowledged that what happened was in his mind.
“I thought about my life, growing up and what I’ve lived and seen these people,” he said after adding 10 points in defeat. “And what they have to go through now is shit. I’m so sorry and I’m going to pray for their families.
“Basketball is just a game; people lost their lives. That’s kind of it. It’s hard to say in words that I just finished playing my last game here at CU and the tragedy that happened in Boulder, I’ts horrible. “
Boyle called Boulder “a safe place like I’ve never felt and lived in my life.”
“So if it can happen, it can happen there, it can happen anywhere,” he said. “But we have to figure out a way to stop these things. I don’t know the answer, but we just have to figure out a way.”