Longhorns Alum Matthew McConaughey Speaks Out On Uvalde Shootings

Longhorns super-fan Matthew McConaughey spoke on the shootings in his home town

Matt Galatzan | May 25, 2022

Sports franchises, political figures, and celebrities across the United States are beginning to speak out in regard to the tragic mass shooting that devastated the small Texas city of Uvalde, where at least 19 children were killed at Robb Elementary.

The latest among that group is Texas native and avid Longhorns fan Matthew McConaughey, who just so happens to be from Uvalde himself.

"Once again, we have tragically proven that we are failing to be responsible for the rights our freedoms grant us," McConaughey wrote in a statement just after midnight that appeared on his social media platforms.

The shooting at the elementary school came at the hands of an 18-year-old gunman, who according to officials had shot his grandmother and crashed his vehicle near the campus and "was shooting everybody" when he entered the building, where second-, third- and fourth-graders were attending class.

McConaughey wrote that Americans need to "rearrange our values" so that people can find common ground "above this devastating American reality that has tragically become our children's issue."

"The true call to action now is for every American to take a longer and deeper look in the mirror, and ask ourselves, 'What is it that we truly value? How do we repair the problem? What small sacrifices can we individually take today, to preserve a healthier and safer nation, state, and neighborhood tomorrow?'" he wrote. "We can't exhale once again, make excuses, and accept these tragic realities as the status quo."

McConaughey, 52, who has called himself "a simple kid born in the little town of Uvalde'' and who has considered running for governor of Texas, added, "This is an epidemic we can control, and whichever side of the aisle we may stand on, we all know we can do better. We must do better."

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Published May 25, 2022

MATT GALATZAN

Matt Galatzan is the Managing Editor and Publisher of Texas Longhorns On SI and Texas A&M Aggies On SI and a long-time member of the Football Writer’s Association of America. He graduated from the University of Mississippi, where he studied integrated marketing communications, with minors in journalism and business administration. Galatzan started in the sports journalism industry in 2014 covering the Dallas Mavericks and SMU Mustangs with 247Sports. He then moved to Sports Illustrated's Fan Nation network in 2020, eventually being taking over as the Managing Editor and Publisher of the Longhorns and Aggies sites a year later. You can find Galatzan on all major social media channels, including Twitter on @MattGalatzan.