'It’s About Human Decency': Ricky Cobb Responds to Charlie Kirk Assassination
OutKick's Ricky Cobb called for unity after the assassination of Charlie Kirk
On Thursday, OutKick's Ricky Cobb got the latest edition of The Ricky Cobb Show off to an emotional start as he and the rest of the country continue to try to process the horrific assassination of activist and media personality Charlie Kirk.
Ricky Emotional Intro And Hanson
"I know that everybody is processing the events of yesterday and waking up on the anniversary of 9/11. The following morning only causes us that much more reflection to pause for a moment. You know, on August 20, 1976, my dad left for work and he didn't make it home," an emotional Cobb said. "Thirty-three years old, left behind a twenty-eight-year-old widow, a five-year-old boy who had just celebrated his birthday the day before.
"Mostly, today, I hope that we can find our humanity as a country again, because what happened yesterday in Utah is not about Republicans," he continued. "It's not about Democrats. It's about human decency and about recognizing that we're all here for a short time and we should treat each other well."
After that emotional start to the show, Cobb talked about how Wednesday's tragedy in Utah had left him questioning what role his show plays. He recounted a story about one fan who prepared for brain surgery by reading through the Super '70s Sports X feed.
"And so with that, I tell you my commitment on this program every day is to give you a place that you can come — regardless of who you are, regardless of how you see the world — where we can join together. We can have some fun. We can talk about the news of the day. We can talk about sports. We can reflect on our lives. We can reflect on our childhoods, and we can have a good time.
From there, Ricky got into an interview with NFL RedZone host Scott Hanson about the role that sports can play when trying to process tragedies like Kirk's assassination or the 24th anniversary of 9/11.
"We need to find common ground in our country, in my opinion," Hanson said. "And if sports, if football is the place to start, if NFL RedZone is a common ground, I'm thrilled to be a part of that. But I will just say this: my heart, my thoughts, my prayers, go out to the Kirk family and to all those who (have been) impacted by what we've seen in the last (24 hours) — I get chills when I'm even talking about it here.
"It's a horrific thing and a terrible time, and I'm hoping our country can heal from it."