Tom Izzo decries gun violence after Michigan State shooting: 'Our lives have been permanently changed'
On a night when his Spartans were scheduled to host Minnesota, Tom Izzo instead addressed a mass shooting that claimed the lives of three Michigan State students.
The Michigan State basketball coach decried gun violence while speaking at a candlelight vigil in East Lansing on Wednesday, two days after a single shooter opened fire at two locations on campus. The shooter killed students Arielle Anderson, Brian Fraser and Alexandria Verner and wounded five others. All on-campus activities were postponed Wednesday, including Michigan State's basketball game.
Izzo has been the head coach at Michigan State for 28 years. He joined the Spartans as an assistant on Jud Heathcote's staff in 1983. His daughter, Raquel, graduated from MSU. His son, Steven, is a current student and walk-on on the basketball team.
He opened his speech with condolences to the families and victims of Monday's shooting. He then spoke about what Michigan State means to him.
"I don't like the place. I don't love the place. I live the place," Izzo said. "To the families of those who were senselessly taken from us, words seem so hollow right now. To the individuals currently fighting for their lives in a hospital and their families, we're praying for you."
Izzo said he visited the injured in the hospital, as did Gov. Gretchen Whitmer — an MSU alum — and school president Teresa K. Woodruff, both of whom also spoke at Wednesday's vigil. Izzo also revealed that his son was on campus the night of the shooting.
"Steven was at one of the buildings two nights ago about 10 minutes after things happened," Izzo said. "So sometimes we don't understand because we haven't been through it. That little moment brought me a little closer to understanding."
Izzo thanked first responders and applauded the students and staff who sheltered in place while the shooter remained at large Monday. He urged the Michigan State community to support one another while offering his own words of encouragement.
"Our hearts are heavy," he said. "Our loss has been great. Our lives have been permanently changed. With a shared commitment to help each other and a promise to remember those we have lost, we will find joy again."
He then urged everyone with a platform to speak out to address gun violence.
"I think everybody spoke that something has to be done in our society," Izzo said. "Gun violence is insane right now. We all have a platform. Some are small, some are high. But we all have a platform. I hope each and every one of you use your platform to help others so other families don’t have to go through what these families are going through right now."
Izzo made his plea the same day that hundreds of MSU students protested for gun reform at the Michigan state capitol in Lansing.
