Sean Payton speaks out after Las Vegas shooting
— -- METAIRIE, La. -- New Orleans Saints coach Sean Payton spoke out strongly against the "madness" of gun violence in America for the second time in two years Tuesday in the wake of the mass shooting in Las Vegas, saying that he believes the "current policies and thoughts are flawed."
"It's very clear. And, look, if that pisses people off, it's tough," said Payton, who also passionately spoke out about the need for stronger gun control last year following former Saints player Will Smith's shooting death.
Payton spoke to the media on the subject Tuesday after he had earlier tweeted out a statistic that appeared to come from The New York Times and politifact.com in 2015 which said that more Americans have been killed in the U.S. by guns (including suicides) since 1968 than in all wars in the country's history combined.
When asked why he decided to use his platform to speak out so strongly on this issue, Payton said: "It was no decision, it's just common sense. It's, 'We should quietly sit ...' And I just think it's frustrating. Sometimes you see things from afar and you look and you think, 'It's madness.'"
"It was very simple," Payton said of his Tuesday tweet. "I just think, let's start from this standpoint: The current protocol is not working. The current system's not working. And the madness is when you go years and years and years and say, 'Well ...'
"So the current policies and thoughts are flawed. And I believe this in my heart: We as a society owe it to our children, and we have to be better that way. And I made my statements clear after the death of Will Smith. And these things come up and they come up, and you try to draw parallels throughout our world. And, look, it's hard to find other countries like that. And here we are as educated and smart and forward-thinking as we think we are, and yet it's broken and it's obvious."
Last year after Smith was shot and killed during an argument that followed a traffic incident, Payton shared his passionate views with USA Today, saying, "I hate guns" and, "Our city is broken."
"Two hundred years from now, they're going to look back and say, 'What was that madness about?'" Payton told USA Today at the time. "The idea that we need them to fend off intruders ... people are more apt to draw them (in other situations). That's some silly stuff we're hanging on to."
Payton added to USA Today: "I'm not an extreme liberal. I find myself leaning to the right on some issues. But on this issue, I can't wrap my brain around it."
Payton also waded into the political spectrum on a separate issue last week when he was critical of President Donald Trump's comments against NFL players' national anthem protests.
"I would say personally I'm disappointed in the comments that were made. I think we need a little bit more wisdom in that office. And that's being a little blunt, but that's how I feel," Payton said. "I want that guy to be one of the smarter guys in the room. And it seems like every time he's opening his mouth, it's something that is dividing our country and not pulling us together. And that has nothing to do with my feelings about the anthem. But it's just my take in 24 hours. So that's how I feel."
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