The mass shooting in Birmingham’s Southside on Saturday night occurred right at the entrance of UAB’s campus.
On Monday, UAB football coach Trent Dilfer reported that one of the football players was affected by this mafia-style bloodbath. Witnesses stated that several gunmen opened fire into a crowd gathered outside Hush Lounge in Birmingham’s well-known Five Points South entertainment district. The incident resulted in four fatalities and many additional injuries.
“No.1 our hearts go out with the victims and their families,” Dilfer said. “We personally had a player who was affected by it. I don’t want to share the details, so it has touched our program.
“But it also reinforces why we built this thing for something bigger than football. It’s an opportunity to talk to our players and reinforce why we’re trying to build men who make a positive impact on our communities.
“Especially, the City of Birmingham — we obviously have issues, violence, we feel like our kids here, as they grow in the program, can be role models to young kids in the city. That there’s an alternative.”
When it comes to showing genuine concern for Birmingham and making a positive impact, Trent Dilfer goes beyond mere words. He relocated to an apartment in downtown to immerse himself in the city and has developed a friendship with Birmingham Mayor Randall Woodfin. Dilfer also highlighted the community service hours contributed by his team this year, which are nearing 3,000 hours.
Dilfer expressed that he is one of Woodfin’s biggest supporters.
“Mayor Woodfin and I have developed a good relationship,” Dilfer said. “I think the world of him…I did not reach out to him after this simply because he’s got a lot bigger fish to fry than the football coach.
“These are issues he has been addressing head on for quite a while. If you follow him on social media, he’s very bold on his stance against these types of acts of violence — against [Glock] switches and all these different things that plague our community. I know that he has exhausted every effort. He has brought in other resources. He has begged for other resources. He has tried to put this in the forefront of everything, and all I can say publicly is that we lock arms with him.
Asked about his immediate message to UAB’s football team about the effects of gun violence, Dilfer said he has addressed it.
“We’ve talked about choices, decisions and consequences,” Dilfer said. “We’ve talked about even though culturally you grow up where it’s understood and an accepted thing, that doesn’t mean that it is. Just because how you grew up and how you saw something, doesn’t mean that’s the best way.
“We’ve talked a lot about the difference between bad, good and best. And I think that’s been one of the core themes that we’ve tried to emphasize in 21 months. There are bad decisions. There are bad choices. And those come with bad consequences. There are good decisions and then there are best decisions. Let’s choose the best road. It’s the harder road, but it’s also the more impactful road.”
“It’s about the next generation,” Dilfer said. “The best we can do is put a bandage on this generation.”
UAB (1-2) plays Navy (3-0) at Protective Stadium at 11 a.m. on Saturday.
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