The widow of an Uber driver killed in a suspected drunken driving crash said her family has been "devastated" by a political ad featuring her deceased husband Shaquem Griffin Seahawks Jersey , an Indianapolis Colts player who was also killed and the Guatemalan immigrant charged with their deaths.

Deb Monroe, the widow of driver Jeffrey Monroe, told The Associated Press in an interview Thursday that Republican U.S. Senate candidate Mike Braun should take his ad off the air.

"Why would you do this? He has not even been in the ground two weeks," said Monroe. "You could have had the decency to wait and let us deal with our loss."

The ad by Braun, who has yet to address to Monroe's concerns, comes in the midst of a heated GOP Senate primary. And it's just the latest example of a political figure, among them President Donald Trump, seizing on the Feb. 4 deaths of Monroe and Colts linebacker Edwin Jackson.

The two were struck while standing outside Monroe's car along Interstate 70 after Jackson, 26, became ill while Monroe, 54, was transporting him for the ride-hailing company, police said.

Trump tweeted about the tragedy, calling it "disgraceful" that the man charged with the crime Da'Ron Payne Redskins Jersey , Manuel Orrego-Savala, 37, was a twice-deported immigrant in the country illegally. Braun's GOP primary rivals both released statements in the wake of the fatal crash.

The ad, which is narrated by Braun, displays Orrego-Savala's mug shot as well as pictures of Monroe and Jackson.

"Politicians in Washington have ignored this issue for far too long," Braun intones. "We must build the wall, ban sanctuary cities and put an end to chain migration. There are lives at stake."

Deb Monroe said calls for a crackdown on immigrants are beside the point.

"Immigration didn't kill my husband," said Monroe, 62, of Avon, Indiana. "The idiot that chose to drink and get behind the wheel of a 5,000 pound vehicle did."

She added: "If he had been sober and gone by them on the road, you wouldn't even know he was in the country."

Furthermore, she said her husband of 26 years was against building a wall along the southern U.S. border.

"He felt the wall was a waste of money Authentic Brian O'Neill Jersey , that it could be used better someplace else," she said.

Immigration has been a hot button issue in Indiana's Republican Senate primary, which features two sitting congressman squaring off against Braun. Rep. Todd Rokita has embraced Trump's anti-immigration stances and Rep. Luke Messer recently sharpened his own tone.

But the ad by Braun, a businessman and former state lawmaker, takes it to a new level.

Monroe said she phoned Braun's campaign to request that they take the ad off the air, but they have not returned her call.

Campaign spokesman Josh Kelley declined to address questions about whether Braun would heed her request, or if they plan on returning her call.

"Mike Braun believes that Washington needs to stop illegal immigration, build the wall, and keep criminal illegals like the one that killed Jeffrey Monroe and Edwin Jackson out of Indiana," Kelley wrote in an emailed statement. He added: "Mike and his family are praying for the families of the victims."

Deb Monroe said politicians have been all too happy to "exploit" her husband's death.

"Everyone is upset over this," Monroe said. "I can't let them do this to his name. I just can't."


Jon Gruden is football through and through. It doesn’t matter what level, what age, or where.

The former and now current coach of the Raiders displayed that again Tuesday by overseeing the distribution of funds and equipment to four Oakland youth football programs through the DICK’S Sporting Goods Sports Matter Program. Gruden has been a major spokesman for that initiative for more than four years.

In the afternoon at Raiders headquarters, Gruden presented grants of $15 Josh Jackson Jersey ,000 to the head coaches of McClymonds High School and Oakland Tech. He invited the coaches of both teams to the Raiders main office for a ”special behind- the-scenes tour” and discussion of football in Oakland. When the tour ended, Gruden handed over the checks to the surprised coaches.

At night, coaches and players from the East Bay Panthers and San Leandro Crusaders headed to a ”friendly scrimmage” at Burrell Field. When the teams ran onto the field, they were stunned to see new football helmets, pads, balls and water bottles laid out on the field for them.

Each league received a $50,000 grant.

”Being back in Oakland and getting back into coaching has only fired me up more to work with DICK’S Sports Matter program to help more kids have the opportunity to play,” said Gruden, who also gave the Panthers and Crusaders a pep talk. ”Like so many other cities in the U.S., we have an issue with youth sports funding here in Oakland. Costs are rising – kids can’t afford to play and coaches can’t afford to coach.

”Seeing these kids’ faces light up and knowing that sports will teach them so many valuable lessons they will carry with them off the field is really special.”

Gruden encourages other youth sports program struggling to get by ”to visit SportsMatter.org to apply for help.”

”If you give your absolute best effort on the field, the lessons that sports teach will stay with you forever, and help you to be your best in every part of your life,” he said.

Oakland has an 18.9 percent poverty rate, and the highest crime rate of any city in California.

Many areas in cities across the country need funding for their youth sports and school athletic programs. According to Up2Us Sports Authentic Billy Price Jersey , a nonprofit whose research, training, and on-the-ground initiatives empower sports programs to become an agent of positive social change, billions of dollars have been cut from school sports budgets in recent years. These cuts disproportionately impact students in low income areas, and students from low-income families are four times more likely to decrease participation in sports due to costs.

Student athletes have an 11 percent higher graduation rate than non-athletes, Up2Us Sports reports. The U.S. Department of Education adds that students who participate in sports are four times more likely to attend college.

DICK’S and its foundation created Sports Matter in 2014, pledging more than $50 million to support youth sports programs in need and raise awareness of the funding crisis. To date, Sports Matter has helped fund tens of thousands of youth sports programs and impacted hundreds of thousands of young athletes nationwide.

”It’s days like today that make it all worth it, and we can’t thank coach Gruden and DICK’S enough,” said Jacob Davis, president of the East Bay Panthers. ”We love these kids and know how important sports are to keep them off the streets and doing positive things in their lives. This money will go a long way in helping our leagues survive and thrive.”

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