Fifty Shades of Grace # 6

FIFTY SHADES OF GRACE  # 6

Andy Murray won the 2013 Wimbledon Championships in June and was the first male British citizen to do so in 77 years. He won a gold medal at the 2012 Olympics and became the first British player since 1977 to win the US Open tournament last year. He is ranked the worldwide No. 3 and British No. 1 male singles tennis player.

He is also a survivor of gun violence. The media reminded the world of that and placed his accomplishments in that perspective after he won Wimbledon.

The Dunblane, Scotland, school massacre occurred at Dunblane Primary School on March 13, 1996. The gunman, 43-year-old Thomas Hamilton, entered the school armed with four handguns, shooting and killing 16 children and one adult teacher before committing suicide. Andy, then 8 years old, hid under a desk in a nearby classroom until police and teachers arrived on the scene.

In his autobiography, Hitting Back (Century, 2008), Murray says he was too young to understand what was happening during the Dunblane massacre. He is often reluctant to talk about his experience in interviews, but after watching the news from Connecticut last December, he had something to say. 

Andy sent a message to the families of the victims at Sandy Hook Elementary school in Newtown in response to the tragic mass shooting that took the lives of 20 students and six teachers (12/14/2012). In a Facebook post, he wrote, "My heart goes out to all those poor children, their families and the community in Newtown in Connecticut, so, so sad." (USA Today, December 18, 2012).

The people of Dunblane will tell you that Andy Murray has made them famous. He has dimmed the memory of that tragic day in 1996. He will not claim that effect but remains a proud and dedicated citizen of that village. As one of the most competitive and focused professional tennis players in the world, he remains a person with deep empathy for others. 

One dictionary defines “champion” as “a person who fights for or defends any person or cause.” For the people of Dunblane, Andy Murray is their champion in more ways than one.