Roberto Luongo has become one of the most beloved hockey figures on the internet. His famous Twitter account has been the source of countless laughs as he hilariously commentates on happenings in hockey and other sports. However almost a month ago Luongo felt tragedy strike close to home and has caused him to use his popular voice to address a different way.
Majory Stoneman Douglas high school in Parkland, Florida, was the scene of a horrible event that saw a gunman enter the property and open fire. Seventeen people lost their lives that day, with many more still dealing with injuries. As a longtime resident of the city, Luongo has taken it upon himself to raise the importance of recognizing a need for change.
Two weeks ago, Luongo delivered this message.
Two weeks later, Luongo is making sure that people aren’t letting this go. He wants to keep talking about it, and advocating for change. On Monday, Luongo delivered another message.
The following is an excerpt from Emily Kaplan’s ESPN article.
"We need to keep talking about this," he said. "I want the [high school students] to keep fighting. And I want everyone to pay attention. As we all know, it's not front-page news anymore. People in the media have moved on to other stuff. But it's important to keep it in the forefront. It's always going to be there. We just need to keep the dialogue going."
Luongo also opened up about how the events have affected his family personally, and how fear has not left residents of Parkland quite as fast as the media has moved on.
The following is another excerpt from Kaplan’s article.
Last Thursday, Luongo's 9-year-old daughter told him she didn't want to go to school because she "had a bad feeling" in her stomach. Gina took their daughter to Friday morning mass and at one point, a siren blared outside. "Right away, my daughter jumped up and was looking around," Luongo said. "It's not normal for children to have that feeling. The one thing I want is for my kids to feel safe at school. That's what it's all about, right? I don't care how it gets done; it needs to get done."
Luongo went on to explain that his admirable speech was not something that he was used to. Apparently oral communications was a weak spot of his going through school, but the topic flowed off his tongue so naturally based on how much he believes people need to stay aware.
(H/T Emily Kaplan, ESPN)
