Over the weekend, an NFL star was shot. Now hear what his coach said.

    
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New Orleans Saints head coach Sean Payton spoke out in an interview with USA Today.

Over the weekend, an NFL star was shot. Now hear what his coach said.

On Saturday night, former NFL Pro Bowl defensive end Will Smith was shot and killed during a traffic altercation.

Just hours earlier, the 2010 Super Bowl champion tweeted about how much fun he was having at the French Quarter Fest in New Orleans. While information is still rolling in about exactly what happened, it's a tragedy all around.

Sean Payton, Smith's coach for most of his time in New Orleans, did something rare for an NFL coach: He spoke out against lax gun laws, violence, and culture.

In a 33-minute phone interview with USA Today, Payton sounded off about everything from what it was like driving to the scene of the shooting to Smith's potential for becoming an NFL coach someday. The night of the shooting, Payton spent time at the hospital with Smith's wife, Racquel, who was also shot.

After a bit of research on the gun that was used to kill his former player, Payton felt that he needed to say something — and say something he did.

1. On arguments that more guns make us safer:

2. On the Second Amendment:

3. On politics:

4. On Smith's potential to be an NFL coach:

5. On seeing Smith's potential cut short by gun violence:

6. On America's legacy of gun culture:

7. On anyone who might criticize him for speaking out:

It shouldn't take a tragedy like this for us to care, but news of a high-profile person falling victim to gun violence can be a wake-up call.

Maybe Payton's words will resonate with a fan. Maybe he'll change a few minds. Maybe we can put pressure on government to actually do something about gun violence. Whether it's Will Smith or John Doe, a life lost to gun violence is a life cut unnecessarily short.

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Empowered Women

This woman used creative writing as a refuge while growing up in the midst of a violent drug war. And now she's fostering a love for LatinX poetry.

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Davina Agudelo was born in Miami, Florida, but she grew up in Medellín, Colombia.

"I am so grateful for my upbringing in Colombia, surrounded by mountains and mango trees, and for my Colombian family," Agudelo says. "Colombia is the place where I learned what's truly essential in life." It's also where she found her passion for the arts.

While she was growing up, Colombia was going through a violent drug war, and Agudelo turned to literature, theater, singing, and creative writing as a refuge. "Journaling became a sacred practice, where I could leave on the page my dreams & longings as well as my joy and sadness," she says. "During those years, poetry came to me naturally. My grandfather was a poet and though I never met him, maybe there is a little bit of his love for poetry within me."

In 1998, when she left her home and everyone she loved and moved to California, the arts continued to be her solace and comfort. She got her bachelor's degree in theater arts before getting certified in journalism at UCLA. It was there she realized the need to create a media platform that highlighted the positive contributions of LatinX in the US.

"I know the power that storytelling and writing our own stories have and how creative writing can aid us in our own transformation."

In 2012, she started Alegría Magazine and it was a great success. Later, she refurbished a van into a mobile bookstore to celebrate Latin American and LatinX indie authors and poets, while also encouraging children's reading and writing in low-income communities across Southern California.

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