Golden State Warriors coach Steve Kerr called out politicians, the National Rifle Association and the wall President Trump seeks to build along the border with Mexico in the hours after another fatal mass shooting.
Asked about the tragedy in a Parkland, Fla., high school Wednesday that left 17 dead, Kerr said the inaction after prior shootings was “disgusting" in a chat with reporters before Wednesday’s game against the Portland Trail Blazers. The 19-year-old suspect, a former student at the school who was taken into custody in the aftermath of the shooting, used a military-style rifle to commit the massacre.
“Well, nothing has been done,” Kerr said. “It doesn't seem to matter to our government that children are being shot to death day after day in schools. It doesn't seem to matter that people are being shot at a concert, in a movie theater. It's not enough, apparently, to move our leadership, our government, the people running this country to actually do anything. That's demoralizing.
“But we can do something about it. We can vote people in who actually have the courage to protect peoples’ lives and not just bow down to the NRA because they finance their campaign for them. So, hopefully, we will find enough people to vote good people with courage to actually help our citizens remain safe and focus on the real safety issues and not building some stupid wall for billions of dollars that has nothing to do with our safety, but actually protecting us from what truly is dangerous -- which is maniacs with semi-automatic weapons (who) are just slaughtering our children. It's disgusting."
Kerr, like San Antonio Spurs coach Gregg Popovich, hasn’t been one to shy away from social issues or take on Trump.
"The history of the world is that people are going to look out for themselves, and people are going to be power hungry," Kerr told USA TODAY Sports in December. "That's one of the reasons our country has been so successful is we have these institutions in place to protect us from ourselves, and so the institutions have to win out. The only way that's going to happen is if we keep calling (expletive), so that's my approach. I just have to join the coalition that's calling (expletive)."
Kerr penned a story for Sports Illustrated in September after Trump rescinded the Warriors’ invite to the White House --- even if it was clear the Warriors would likely have skipped the championship visit anyway.
“Remember, the president works for us, not vice versa,” Kerr wrote. “We elected him. He doesn’t just work for his constituents and his base. He works for every citizen. Once you take that office, you have to do what’s best for the entire country. Sure, you’re going to have policies that align with your party, but that’s not the point. Respectfully, Mr. Trump, the point is this: You’re the president. You represent all of us. Don’t divide us. Bring us together.”
