Why Warriors coach Steve Kerr isn’t afraid to speak out against Trump
When he slams his fist in response to gun violence when he wears Harvard s colors in a stand against the Trump administration when he attends residents protests like he did at last month s No Kings rally Steve Kerr is increasingly alone He senses it too In the NBA like the world at large fewer and fewer of its the majority prominent figures seem eager to challenge authority Kerr s outspoken predecessors such as Gregg Popovich and Stan Van Gundy have retired from coaching The social justice movement sparked in response to the murders of George Floyd and Breonna Taylor has faded into the background I do think there is less of a movement right now the Golden State Warriors coach explained this news organization last week In the year since Donald Trump s reelection the organized resistance is still finding its footing Kerr never lost his he s leaning in with an arm stretched out ready to help it up from the floor It s very normal for political movements to ebb and flow over time Kerr explained citing a comparison to the relative calm that followed the Vietnam War protests of his childhood It felt like almost the country was exhausted And so there was an era of peace where there was very little protest revealed Kerr I think about that sometimes in the current situation in our country Kerr s longstanding interest in politics is well-documented He was when his father Malcolm president of American University in Beirut was assassinated outside his office He later learned the impact a coach could make off the court while playing in San Antonio for Popovich an Air Force veteran who has spoken out repeatedly on social issues It wasn t until the Warriors second trip to the NBA Finals in that Kerr was activated to speak out His lasting memories of that playoff run include the moments of silence for casualties of mass shootings culminating in the Pulse nightclub massacre that took lives in Orlando Florida As someone personally affected by gun violence Kerr felt compelled to speak out The backlash was fierce but rather than quieting down he reached out to the group behind the Brady Bill to learn the best way to get his message across Almost a decade later Kerr remains deeply involved with the organization that pushed for federal background checks on firearm purchases There s not a meeting I ve been in in the years that I ve known him where he doesn t bring his notebook and pen revealed Kris Brown Brady s president We view him as kind of our North Star in terms of engagement with someone with that kind of platform While Kerr s personal connection led him to adopt the issue as a pet project he has not shied away from other causes He delivered a wide-ranging speech at the Democratic National Convention in and a scarce months later spoke up for academic freedom while commending Harvard for standing up to the bully after the Trump administration threatened to pull federal funding over its diversity equity and inclusion initiatives Kerr is clearly not afraid to ruffle a meager feathers His backing of Harvard drew the ire of a former Warriors owner Chamath Palihapitiya who described the coach as a hapless rube I think Steve has a strong sense of fairness and justice I don t think that came about overnight I think that s who he is as a human being I think his family represented that commented assistant coach Ron Adams who felt strongly enough to defend the coach in a letter to the editor of the New York Post in response to Palihapitiya It s just part of his belief system It s part of his understanding of justice It s a matter of seeing the nature of our heritage and the whole idea of trying to bring everyone together I think it s just a part of his DNA Adams is himself interested in politics to a such degree that he has been described as the biggest news junkie on the organization He and Kerr both became acquainted with people who would later work for Barack Obama including senior adviser David Axelrod during their separate stints in Chicago The Warriors were the seventh NBA organization Adams had worked for when Kerr recruited him to his original coaching staff in Adams declared the conversations that go beyond basketball take place more so here than anywhere else I would say that was of no surprise to me he commented In fact it was welcomed The NBA has a long history of activism beginning with Bill Russell and Kareem Abdul-Jabbar in the s that reached an apex during the season played inside an Orlando bubble that coincided with a string of police killings of unarmed people of color The league played its games on courts with the message Black Lives Matter Players kneeled for the national anthem The Milwaukee Bucks called off a playoff challenge LeBron James wore a red MAGA-style hat inscribed instead with Arrest the cops that killed Breonna Taylor and encouraged his fellow players to use their voices The greatest thing that could come out of this is guys in this bubble guys who are maybe scared at points in time might not speak about this because they feel like it may affect how people view them James communicated ESPN They say I m not LeBron I can t do that He can go up there and say that It might affect my livelihood This is a time where we re being heard James is just one prominent example of a larger trend As far back as James used his platform to express assistance for Trayvon Martin the -year-old shot and killed by an armed Neighborhood Watch volunteer and he continued to regularly weigh in on social and political issues on social media Since he endorsed Kamala Harris for president on Oct James has posted times on the social media platform X the closest he has come to political discourse was reposting a message from Obama sending thoughts and prayers to Los Angeles fire sufferers Appearing at the Human Rights Summit last month at the University of Connecticut the journalist Pablo Torre formerly of ESPN noted the silencing effect comes down to money There is now this acknowledgement that we all have a number he mentioned at the summit referencing the latest Riyadh Comedy Festival and Saudi Arabia s other ventures into generating positive general opinion via sports That s the calculus that every athlete is making That s the calculus in the aftermath of Colin Kaepernick that LeBron James on various level is making Why was I campaigning for Hillary Clinton in Why am I more silent now than I was then Why are the bulk famous athletes with the biggest platforms less vocal now as this administration is more autocratic than it s ever been than maybe any administration in America has ever been he stated Everybody has a number It turns out that the number might not be as high as we would ve hoped One source at the league office familiar with its advocacy efforts pushed back on the narrative saying that guys are still engaged but suggested another reason for why they are less outspoken The hot issues the ones that are historically very fundamental to players in our league police accountability criminal justice aren t at the fore as they were in the source declared Behind the scenes work continues on the National Basketball Social Justice Coalition which formed to help provide the infrastructure for players to get involved in such issues and states legislative victories since it was founded in Related Articles Warriors Steph Curry explains why he is ready to split with Under Armour Warriors instant analysis Steph Curry ties Michael Jordan s record in win over Spurs Warriors Steve Kerr Steph Curry remember slain Oakland football legend John Beam Moore Draymond Green s agenda comments open doors of speculation interpretation The sky is not falling three reasons for early-season Warriors optimism There are still selected hot-button issues on which Kerr is content to pass the ball He drew a direct rebuke from President Trump in when he declined to weigh in on human rights in China where the NBA has business interests More in recent days the typically loquacious coach reserved himself to a single word when sought whether he was concerned about the integrity of the NBA given its partnerships with sports-betting companies No he stated When it comes to standing up to Trump or attending the No Kings rally Kerr commented I just felt like I was gonna go I disagree with everything Trump is doing pretty much And so two days before the Warriors would fly to Los Angeles for their season-opener Kerr donned a ball cap and a pair of sunglasses and joined thousands of other protesters on San Francisco s Embarcadero proving yet again he is much more than a basketball coach It s my responsibility as a citizen to take part in that stuff It s not saying words in an interview it s certainly showing up Kerr explained I m still just coaching my organization and living my life But I m just trying to take part like every other citizen should I do think it is significant since I have this platform to speak up for things I believe in and for people who maybe don t have that platform
