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Anthony Rizzo Speaks at Vigil Held After Marjory Stoneman Douglas HS Shooting
February 16, 2018
Chicago Cubs first baseman Anthony Rizzo attended high school at Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School in Parkland, Florida, and addressed the community Thursday night after Wednesday's tragic shooting.
ESPN.com shared the video of Rizzo speaking to the gathered crowd, and he was emotional and holding back tears for extended stretches.
"I'm only who I am because of this community," he said.
"I want you to know that you're not alone in your grief, we're all grieving with you," Rizzo continued. "The entire country is grieving with you."
Per Eric Levenson of CNN, 17 people were killed by a gunman at the school on Wednesday.
While the All-Star offered his support, gratitude and admiration to the teachers, students, families and first responders during his speech, he also pointed out things need to change in this country when it comes to gun violence.
"I'm a baseball player, but I'm also an American. I'm a Floridian, and I'm a Parklander for life," he said. "Though I don't have all the answers, I know that something has to change before this is visited on another community and another community and another community."
Rizzo and the Cubs both offered their support to the community on Twitter as well:
Patrick Mooney of The Athletic noted Rizzo graduated from the school in 2007 and maintains a charitable foundation in the community of Parkland.
According to ESPN.com, the first baseman donated $150,000 to Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School in November to help install lights on the baseball and softball fields. The article also noted he "played freshman football under assistant coach Aaron Feis, who was among those killed in Wednesday's shooting and is being hailed a hero for shielding a student."
Rizzo offered his support Thursday night, and teammate Kris Bryant explained why he is an ideal person to do as much.
"Anthony's just a role model for everybody on this team, in Chicago, the whole country," Bryant said, per Mooney. "He's just such an amazing person that he's going down there and doing anything that he can do to help."
Rizzo was named the Roberto Clemente Award winner in 2017 for his charitable endeavors with pediatric cancer patients.