Warriors' Steph Curry Shares His Fear For Daughter Riley In NBA Christmas Day Ad Against Gun Violence
SAN FRANCISCO (CBS SF) - Warriors point guard and NBA MVP Stephen Curry reminds us he is a father like millions of others in a new TV campaign against gun violence premiering Christmas Day.
"I heard about a shooting involving a 3-year-old girl," says Curry, his face full-frame in the opening seconds of the public service announcement. "My daughter Riley is that age."
Riley Curry became a media darling as the Warriors capped off their stellar 2014/15 season with a championship win. She stole the show at press conferences in dad's lap, and was often seen bouncing in the stands during the final championship games with her mom, Ayesha.
Curry lent his personal story, along with NBA stars Carmelo Anthony, Chris Paul and Joakim Noah to the poignant thirty-second PSA created by acclaimed director Spike Lee. The players are joined by survivors of gun violence who share their stories and pictures of the loved ones they lost. The PSA ends with Curry's voice saying, "We can end gun violence."
Lee got the players and the NBA involved in the project for Everytown for Gun Safety, a New York-based non-profit organization working to end gun violence. The hashtag #endgunviolence was created so people can show their support on social media.
"Every day, 88 Americans are killed with guns and hundreds more are injured," reads a caption on the organization's website alongside an invitation to join the community by checking a box that says, "I, or a loved one, have been personally affected by gun violence."
In a one-on-one interview, Curry talked to Lee about his two main reasons for joining the campaign -- his daughters.
"I'm doing this PSA because I think it can be changed," says Curry. "It's heartbreaking, it's disappointing for each of those families to have to go through that unimaginable pain. It's affecting the culture, tone and temperature of the country -- right in my backyard, right where Oracle Arena is, right where we play."
In fact, have been 86 homicides so far in Oakland in 2015, and shootings account for the vast majority. According to one study, Oakland police receive an average of 11 gun-related crime reports each day. And while the city's murder rate is in slight decline, armed robberies are on the rise. In 2014, there were almost 7000 incidences of violent crime in Oakland, according to the FBI, making the possibility of getting caught up in gun violence a day-to-day reality for the people who live there.
"As a parent of two little girls, anytime you hear of someone not even involved in an altercation... getting caught in the middle by a stray bullet, that hurts. I don't know what I would do if I got a call saying my daughter's gone. No parent should ever have to go through that."
The PSA will air during the games on December 25.
CBSSF.com writer, producer Jan Mabry is also executive producer and host of The Bronze Report. She lives in Northern California. Follow her on Twitter @janmabr.
