This is For The Win’s daily newsletter, The Morning Win. Did a friend recommend or forward this to you? If so, subscribe here. Have feedback? Leave your questions, comments and concerns through this brief reader survey! Now, here’s Mike Sykes.
“I hope everyone is OK.”
That was my only thought last night as I watched the local news broadcast here in D.C.
We’d learned that an American Airlines jet collided in midair with a Black Hawk military helicopter on Wednesday night. The plane was carrying 60 passengers and four crew members. The helicopter was carrying three service members.
Officials believe there are no survivors.
EVERYTHING WE KNOW: Here’s everything we know about the crash so far.
I can’t begin to explain the sadness that rained upon me as I heard that news. As I learned that nothing would be OK for those people. That the folks waiting for them at home will never see them again. They won’t hear that door open and be able to say, “Welcome home.” The only call they’ll get is from someone they’d never heard of telling them a loved one is lost and isn’t coming back.
I can’t imagine what it’s like to get that call. To be frank, I don’t want to. No one does.
Several members of the U.S. and Russian Figure Skating teams were aboard the plane. They were returning from the U.S. Figure Skating championships in Wichita. They flew together with coaches and family, all just trying to make it back home.
This is unspeakably sad. There are no words for it. There aren’t enough platitudes to make it OK. It’s just not and it never will be.
What I also find particularly upsetting is that we’ve already moved on to searching for answers. How did this happen? Was this avoidable? What was communicated between these two vehicles before they collided?
Maybe I feel this a bit more than you do because of how close I am to the situation in terms of proximity. Being so close here in D.C. has certainly shaped my perspective on it. The impact on the local community here cannot be understated.
The further away you are, the easier it is to be a bit removed from the tragedy. You want someone to blame because that’s the first thing you can connect to.
For folks like me who call this area home, you can see the impact more clearly. You see the concentrated rescue and. subsequent recovery efforts. You can see every critical moment of this up close.
Because of that, I can assure you this isn’t just a D.C. tragedy. It’s not a political story — at least not right now. It’s a human one first. It needs to be treated that way.
We all have questions. They’re well and good. Eventually, they will need answers. But I can’t bring myself to worry about those things today. It all feels so trivial when there are so many lives lost.
Officials will get to the bottom of those things. But those questions shouldn’t be the center of our attention. Not in this moment.
Look, I get it. In times of tragedy, we tend to look for someone to blame when things go awry. This has to be someone’s fault. Somebody has got to pay for this.
This doesn’t seem like something that should’ve happened. The U.S. Secretary of Transportation, Sean Duffy, says this was “absolutely” preventable. If that is true, then somebody has to answer for this. Bottom line.
But searching for a pound of flesh today won’t bring back the lives that were lost. Nothing will.
There were 67 people involved in this crash. Sixty-seven people who will never make it back home. They were mothers, brothers, fathers and sisters to someone. They had people who loved them, and they loved them back.
As we search for answers and figure out how this happened, let’s do our best not to forget the human element. Today, we should focus on those people — not on who should lose what job. That comes second.
Make sure to tell the people you love that you love them. You never know when it’ll be your last chance.
Good for Caitlin Clark
Caitlin Clark decided against participating in the NBA’s 3-point shootout with Steph Curry and Sabrina Ionescu.
Why? Meg Hall has the answer:
“Per Tom Friend, her representatives confirmed that she won’t be at All-Star and wants “her first three-point contest to be at WNBA All-Star in Indianapolis this summer.”
Good for Clark, man. I always thought it was weird that the NBA had already penciled her in for this off-the-cuff competition with Steph Curry, Klay Thompson and Sabrina Ionescu. No one asked her if she wanted to do it. No one asked if it even made sense to have her do it.
The WNBA and its players are not just props for the NBA to use at their whim. Shoutout to Caitlin Clark for recognizing that and rejecting this shot into the third row.
Jameis Winston discovers Jameis Winston memes
We all need a good laugh today, so here’s Jameis Winston discovering memes of himself.
@jaboowins Y’all were on one this season 🤣 #nfltiktok #nflmemes
Sorry, Jamies. They’re too good not to dabble in. Maybe just don’t be so ridiculous next season.
Quick hits: What’s a Wasatch? … Brittney Griner in Atlanta is perfect … and more
— Here’s Charles Curtis explaining what a Wasatch is. Let’s learn together because I have no idea.
— Here’s Meg Hall on why Brittney Griner’s move to Atlanta is a good one.
— Xavier Worthy balled out in the AFC Championship so he got to finally meet Taylor Swift.
— Eagles and Commanders players were both surprised the refs could just award the Eagles a touchdown for a palpably unfair act. Andrew Joseph has more..
— Here’s Mary Clarke with the latest goal count for Alex Ovechkin. He’s coming, Gretzky.
— This has got to be the funniest way to get injured. Blake Schuster has more.
That’s a wrap, folks. Thanks so much for rocking with us today. Appreciate you. Peace. Be kind to yourself today.
-Sykes ✌️
