In response to growing interest in carrying a gun for self-defense, the NFL is holding “mandatory training and conversations” about gun safety and storage.
The NFL has provided “social responsibility training” for the past three seasons.
According to Complex, the firearm training is the result of players understanding that their off-field safety is literally in their own hands.
The Baltimore Ravens’ Benjamin Watson said:
The problem is a lot of times, dangerous places come to you. We all have the right to bear arms and that is why I have no problem with an athlete carrying a gun as long as the gun is registered. They need to understand how to use it and make sure it’s a legal firearm. Players are recognizable by their faces, cars and even body types. If you look like an athlete, you can be targeted.
Watson has partnered with the NFL to help teach “gun safety” to his fellow players. He wants to be sure not only that players know how to safely use and store their firearm but that they also value life. Watson said, “We have a problem with violence, but an even bigger problem with people and the value of life and how we take life without remorse sometimes.”
ESPN NBA anylist Jalen Rose shares Watson’s pro-gun, pro-self-defense position. Rose said, “I respect someone’s liberties to bear arms or do whatever they need to do to protect themselves.” His comments were in reference to “legally carrying a firearm.”
AWR Hawkins is the Second Amendment columnist for Breitbart News and host of “Bullets with AWR Hawkins,” a Breitbart News podcast. He is also the political analyst for Armed American Radio. Follow him on Twitter: @AWRHawkins. Reach him directly at awrhawkins@breitbart.com.