Sean Payton blames gun laws for Will Smith’s death

Saints coach Sean Payton believes that gun laws, and violence in New Orleans, are the things to blame for Will Smith’s death.

New Orleans Saints defensive end Will Smith’s death was a tragedy that was felt across the sporting world. Head coach Sean Payton developed a close bond with Smith, and as such is terribly broken up over it. Smith was only a few weeks away from joining the Saints coaching staff as an intern, but tragedy took away that opportunity before it even started.

When he spoke to USA Today, in his first interview since his death, he believes that the cause of his death boils down to one simple factor: gun laws.

"If this opinion in Louisiana is super unpopular, so be it… I hate guns. The idea that we need them to fend off intruders … people are more apt to draw them (in other situations). That’s some silly stuff we’re hanging onto.I’ve heard people argue that everybody needs a gun. That’s madness. I know there are many kids who grow up in a hunting environment. I get that. But there are places, like England, where even the cops don’t have guns.I don’t know how [Smith] felt about guns. I know he loved this city. And I know he was going to be a heck of a coach. He had such a presence about him. Not only would he have made the transition to be a great defensive line coach, he had all the tools to become a head coach."

Payton also described the murder weapon, saying that “We could go online and get 10 of them, and have them shipped to our house tomorrow. I don’t believe that was the intention when they allowed for the right for citizens to bear arms.”

Finally, he ended by saying that New Orleans, a city with one of the highest crime rates in the United States, played a role in this too:

"I just know this: Our city is broken. It’s like our big little secret. They don’t want to kill tourism. But right now, it’s like the Wild, Wild West here."

It’s a sentiment that Smith echoed in this cryptic tweet sent back in 2012:

Will Smith’s death is unquestionably a tragedy, but Sean Payton feels like it could’ve been prevented. Ever since he took over as the Saints coach, he has had strong feelings about gun laws, but the death of a former player and friend has only exacerbated it and made it more prevalent than ever before. Let’s all hope that the Smith family can recover from this quickly.

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