“It’s Pathetic!”: Warriors Head Coach Storms Out Of Pre-Game Press Conference After Railing Senate For Blocking Gun Control
On Tuesday, the head coach for the NBA’s Golden State Warriors, a team based in San Francisco, made it clear he did not want to talk about basketball before that night’s playoff game. Instead, Steve Kerr used his time in front of the cameras to deliver an emotional speech aiming to discuss and condemn politicians’ inaction on gun violence in the United States.
Earlier that same day, an 18-year-old armed man walked into Robb Elementary School in Uvalde, Texas, taking the lives of 19 students and two teachers. During the pre-game press conference, Kerr decided to speak about this completely preventable tragedy and call for immediate action. “When are we going to do something?” Kerr asked after going through the list of recent gun violence in the U.S., slamming his hand on the table.
Fighting back tears and fuming over the dire situation, Kerr continued to say that he was fed up with witnessing the tragedies inflicted upon innocent people: “I’m tired of the moments of silence. Enough.” The coach called out a group of senators for failing to listen to the American people, and he had a lot to say. Scroll down to read the whole speech and the overflowing support it received on social media.
During the pre-game press conference on Tuesday, Golden State Warriors coach Steve Kerr made it clear that “basketball questions don’t matter”
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He instead delivered an emotional speech discussing recent tragic events and condemning gun violence in the United States
Kerr went on to accuse the Senate of stalling House Resolution 8 (H.R. 8), the Bipartisan Background Checks Act of 2021. “There’s a reason they won’t vote on it, and that’s to hold onto power,” the coach said. You see, H.R. 8 would close loopholes in the background checks law. “The purpose of this Act is to utilize the current background checks process in the United States to ensure individuals prohibited from gun purchase or possession are not able to obtain firearms,” the bill states.
H.R. 8 would prohibit gun transfers between private parties unless a licensed gun dealer, manufacturer, or importer first takes possession of the firearm to conduct a background check. Although there would be some exceptions, such as gifts between immediate family members.
According to Everytown for Gun Safety, a nonprofit organization that advocates for gun control and against gun violence, nearly a quarter of Americans who obtain firearms do so without getting a background check. The H.R. 8 would require verifications on all gun sales, and their investigations show it would help stop sales to prohibited buyers. “Since 1994, background checks have stopped more than 4 million illegal gun sales to violent criminals and other people prohibited from having guns,” researchers write. “Closing loopholes in the process with H.R. 8 will ensure that background checks are required on all gun sales and help keep guns out of the wrong hands.”
The House of Representatives passed this bill by a vote of 227-203 in March 2021, with eight Republicans voting in favor and one Democrat against. However, it has been stalled in the Senate for over a year — ten Republican votes are needed to end the filibuster. So Kerr looked into the camera before addressing Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell by name and taking aim at other senators as well.
Kerr is known for his unwavering stance for stronger gun control, regularly and publicly demanding stricter regulations. It is a personal matter to the coach, who remains an outspoken advocate for political issues. He lost his father, Malcolm H. Kerr, to gunmen in Lebanon in 1984 while he was serving as president of the American University of Beirut. According to The Washington Post, Steve Kerr was born in Beirut and moved to California as a toddler. During his college days, he said in an interview that basketball helped him cope with the tragedy of losing his father.
You can watch the full speech right over here
Steve Kerr on today’s tragic shooting in Uvalde, Texas. pic.twitter.com/lsJ8RzPcmC
— Golden State Warriors (@warriors) May 24, 2022
Before Tuesday’s game, which was preceded by a moment of silence, the Dallas Mavericks coach Jason Kidd also voiced his concerns. “We will truly play with heavy hearts tonight for the community, for the school of Robb Elementary School,” Kidd said. “As coaches, as fathers, we have kids, people in this room have kids, elementary school; you can just think about what could take place with any of your family or friends at a school. This is on-the-run job training, and we are going to try to play the game. We have no choice.”
Warriors guard Damion Lee agreed with Kerr and joined him in calling for action. “Obviously, everyone saw Steve’s pregame presser. Those are my exact same sentiments. It’s sad the world that we live in. We need to reform that,” he said. “Guns shouldn’t be as easily accessible. Like, it’s easier to get a gun than baby formula right now. That’s unbelievable in this country that we live in.”
Kerr received an outpouring of support from people on the internet, here’s what they had to say
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I just can't understand how Americans keep insisting this problem can't be fixed with stricter regulations and restrictions for gun ownership, when half the world has already figured it out. The States are the only developed country where mass shootings are a regular occurence.
I agree with you! Roughly 52-53% want stricter gun control, but clearly that's not enough to force a change. And honestly, that 53% is a startling, dismayingly low number, in my opinion. Americans have been fed b******t from politicians and the media about "freedom this, and constitution that" for so long, they've become blind and stupid to reality. I am disheartened and disgusted.
Load More Replies...
America you are broken at a fundamental level. The politics in the USA has gone well past corruption seen anywhere else in the free world. If what is currently happening was a screen play producers would reject it as being too absurd for the audience to believe. Its surreal and yet here we are.
Babe... preach. I'm an American & sitting here seeing all of this s**t everyday has made me sick. When we try to stand up to something... we are treated like fucken anarchists who are disobeying the constitution when we're just protesting or speaking the truth... our entire system is so fucken backwards & I am SICK & TIRED OF PEOPLE GET MURDERED WHILE THEYRE OUT LIVING THEIR LIVES. Whether it's a black man in the street, a black woman IN HER OWN FUCKEN HOME! innocent babies sitting in school, their teachers who die protecting them, innocent men & woman shopping for groceries or going to church. It's disgusting that our country will not put an end to this. Or even start to fix the problem & that's just ONE OF THE 2000 ISSUES WE HAVE GOING ON THAT OUR GOVERNMENT REFUSES TO FIX. America is not a country. It is a corporation. & it needs to go bankrupt so we can burn it all down & start over without all the fucken greed & b******t.
Load More Replies... People keep talking about the second amendment, but keep forgetting one very simple fact - it was written centuries ago, when life, technology and society were TOTALLY different from what they are today. The most powerful civilian firearm at the time the SA was introduced was a manually-loaded, single-shot flintlock rifle... and today we have assault rifles with 100+ times more killing power. You don't need to be a gun expert to realize that you can't apply the same rules to antique and modern weapons.
Sometimes I wonder how far people would be willing to take that argument-what if an individual says they have the right to bear nuclear arms? And unfortunately in this country, they would say yes, you do have that right. I had a teacher that described it well-a person’s right to punch the air ends where my nose begins. But that’s not how many Americans see it.
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I think it is quite telling that A) That f****r trump is still going to address the NRA convention after all this and B) he has such faith in its members that weapons are not allowed in the building while he is there.
And guess what the open-carry ammosexual tough guys won't allow at the convention? That's right. Guns. But FFS let an 18 year old in Texas buy two military grade weapons days after he turns 18 without out a license and without a background check because, you know, pro-life...
Load More Replies...
Some of these problems stem from the puritanical culture of the USA. Websites won't allow words like peacock or cockerel. People alter spelling of suicide and sex. Put alternative words in brackets that make little sense. Americans are afraid of words that are important but will happily print anything about guns. If you are interested in a better future then be more worried by Glock not c**k.
You make it sound like every American censors these words, and we don't. I've only seen that type of censorship the last year maybe and only online. We have a lot of problems, but you're way off base.
Load More Replies...
USA is a strange place, if you are 18 you can buy a rifle but not a beer.
Here's what's happening, and what will happen: the president will address the nation, console the families, maybe visit the school, call for "thoughts and prayers", and do nothing. Democrats will call for stricter gun control, offer thoughts and prayers, and do nothing. Republicans have suggested that maybe all teachers should have guns, and in at least one case, has suggested the parents are to blame because, well, if they were really concerned about their kids' safety, they'd put them in private schools. But they will also do nothing. So yeah, THOUGHTS AND PRAYERS, guys. We hope that comforts you when you'll never see your child smile again, never hold their hand or comfort them, never see them grow and laugh and live out their life. Thoughts and prayers, but we aren't going to do a goddamn thing, because our money and power are more important than what the majority of the country wants. Our government is a f*****g cesspool of greed and ineptitude.
The day they ask me to arm myself as a teacher, will be the day I tell them to shove it you know where and quit. I didn’t sign up in the army or to be a police officer. All that is going to do, is make the mafia they call the NRA richer, and arm many mentally unstable teachers who are at their breaking point. They will lose teachers by the droves if they try to arm us. Enough is enough.
Load More Replies...
Kerr's time with Gregg Popovich was well spent. You're in the media with a soapbox, USE IT. I'm personally sick of the "But, my FREEDOMS!" attitude here in America. Society is built upon social contracts for the betterment of the whole... except here...
Universal background checks should be a bare minimum for owning a gun. There also needs to be a limit on how much ammunition you can buy. Sure people can go to multiple stores and stockpile but the odds of someone noticing go up drastically if they do. This pathetic little tiny dicked manchild bought 375 rounds of ammunition for his 'sport rifle'. No one needs that much in one go for any legitimate reason. There could be exceptions for gun clubs and such who obviously might want to buy in bulk. In the UK I can't buy more than two packs of painkillers in one go in case I'm trying to kill myself (as a chronic pain sufferer this is annoying but it's an inconvenience I accept as the figures show it does reduce suicide), but American gun nuts (as opposed to responsible gun owners) won't agree to any kind of delay or inconvenience when buying their guns and ammunition even if it might make this kind of mass murder just a little harder to accomplish.
i believe i've read in the past that in other countries (UAE is one), you buy the ammunition, and then if you want to get more, you have to return the spent casings, the full amount of them, which just makes solid sense to me. japan and new zealand both have a huge number of steps involved to get a gun, with a lot of time and interviews with your friends and family, home checks, training, etc. the US is a weird, violent outlier, and most of us hate it.
Load More Replies...
If so many people wanted things to change where do Republicans get their votes from?
The uvalde school shooting affected those in nearby towns too. In my hometown of hondo we all know someone who was in or affected by the shooting. On Wednesday the day after everyone was crying bc they couldn't find their missing cousins or they found out the truth. My best friend knew Irma Garcia personally and now that her husband died from a heart attack ( really a broken heart) she's just depressed now and I can't do anything about it.None should have to watch their vice principal break down crying bc we all lost someone to that disturbed shooter. Now condolences won't ever heal them. Can we just realize that u need a background check to purchase a gun and there needs to be an age limit.
We really need to do a better job on voting for our leaders. Most of them, yes most, are not suited for the job. There should be term limits and age restrictions. I don't mean to sound ageist, an 80 year old shouldn't be in charge of anything. Their ideas are not up to date with modern ideologies and frankly at that age you should be wanting to enjoy your last few years of life not attempting to push your old ways into your great grandchildren's generation.
And folks, this is just one area where we are severely troubled. Look around. Every institution is suffering from the ravages of GREED (and yes all the -isms included, it's all greed). We have to redefine our priorities as Americans and build a country that reflects this. Building and sustaining a system off of the suppression and oppression of every day people (aka all of us) has SEVERE consequences. This ain't it yall.
And on the other end of the former pro athlete political intelligence spectrum, we have Herschel Walker, fresh from a primary victory to be the GOP's candidate for US Senate from Georgia, and his take when asked if he supported any new gun laws in the wake of Texas' shooting: "What I like to — what I like to do is see it and everything and stuff...."
Yeah, that was... something else. A senatorial candidate, for f***s sake.
Load More Replies...
Owned guns our whole lives. Literally never met a gun-owner who didn't support all manner of gun control and mandatory training until the last few years. Who are you psychos. Honestly. Any responsible owner would never let some untrained rando anywhere near our weapons. The most basic of logic.
His speech made me cry and I agreed with every word. The problem is the NRA, which owns the government and all of the politicians. It’s not in their favor to limit their gun sales or do background checks. In the meantime, I have to have the talk with my students and tell them that they are safe, when I sure as hell know it’s not true. Teachers, kids, and parents are terrified.
I saw this and found it very moving. Sadly the mass shootings never stop and I don't think they ever will. It's baked into the way of life. Those responsible seem to love guns more than their children and I know this is true because if it wasn't they'd have done SOMETHING about it, wouldn't they??
America just doesn't seem like a real place anymore. Everything that happens is to the absolute extreme. So many mass shootings, SO many school shootings. How can these still be happening?? These shootings don't happen anywhere else! So many entitled people prancing around thinking white privilege is something that actually applies to all white people regardless of any other factor is just remarkable. Teachers of children teaching four year olds about masturbation and dressing up like drag queens without informing parents and then getting upset when parents find out and get mad about it. There's so much happening, it's like an unfunny 'comedy' show, for an outsider like me it's just bizarre and unnerving to observe. I know I went off on a tangent there, I apologise.
I just can't understand how Americans keep insisting this problem can't be fixed with stricter regulations and restrictions for gun ownership, when half the world has already figured it out. The States are the only developed country where mass shootings are a regular occurence.
I agree with you! Roughly 52-53% want stricter gun control, but clearly that's not enough to force a change. And honestly, that 53% is a startling, dismayingly low number, in my opinion. Americans have been fed b******t from politicians and the media about "freedom this, and constitution that" for so long, they've become blind and stupid to reality. I am disheartened and disgusted.
Load More Replies... America you are broken at a fundamental level. The politics in the USA has gone well past corruption seen anywhere else in the free world. If what is currently happening was a screen play producers would reject it as being too absurd for the audience to believe. Its surreal and yet here we are.
Babe... preach. I'm an American & sitting here seeing all of this s**t everyday has made me sick. When we try to stand up to something... we are treated like fucken anarchists who are disobeying the constitution when we're just protesting or speaking the truth... our entire system is so fucken backwards & I am SICK & TIRED OF PEOPLE GET MURDERED WHILE THEYRE OUT LIVING THEIR LIVES. Whether it's a black man in the street, a black woman IN HER OWN FUCKEN HOME! innocent babies sitting in school, their teachers who die protecting them, innocent men & woman shopping for groceries or going to church. It's disgusting that our country will not put an end to this. Or even start to fix the problem & that's just ONE OF THE 2000 ISSUES WE HAVE GOING ON THAT OUR GOVERNMENT REFUSES TO FIX. America is not a country. It is a corporation. & it needs to go bankrupt so we can burn it all down & start over without all the fucken greed & b******t.
Load More Replies... People keep talking about the second amendment, but keep forgetting one very simple fact - it was written centuries ago, when life, technology and society were TOTALLY different from what they are today. The most powerful civilian firearm at the time the SA was introduced was a manually-loaded, single-shot flintlock rifle... and today we have assault rifles with 100+ times more killing power. You don't need to be a gun expert to realize that you can't apply the same rules to antique and modern weapons.
Sometimes I wonder how far people would be willing to take that argument-what if an individual says they have the right to bear nuclear arms? And unfortunately in this country, they would say yes, you do have that right. I had a teacher that described it well-a person’s right to punch the air ends where my nose begins. But that’s not how many Americans see it.
Load More Replies... I think it is quite telling that A) That f****r trump is still going to address the NRA convention after all this and B) he has such faith in its members that weapons are not allowed in the building while he is there.
And guess what the open-carry ammosexual tough guys won't allow at the convention? That's right. Guns. But FFS let an 18 year old in Texas buy two military grade weapons days after he turns 18 without out a license and without a background check because, you know, pro-life...
Load More Replies... Some of these problems stem from the puritanical culture of the USA. Websites won't allow words like peacock or cockerel. People alter spelling of suicide and sex. Put alternative words in brackets that make little sense. Americans are afraid of words that are important but will happily print anything about guns. If you are interested in a better future then be more worried by Glock not c**k.
You make it sound like every American censors these words, and we don't. I've only seen that type of censorship the last year maybe and only online. We have a lot of problems, but you're way off base.
Load More Replies... USA is a strange place, if you are 18 you can buy a rifle but not a beer.
Here's what's happening, and what will happen: the president will address the nation, console the families, maybe visit the school, call for "thoughts and prayers", and do nothing. Democrats will call for stricter gun control, offer thoughts and prayers, and do nothing. Republicans have suggested that maybe all teachers should have guns, and in at least one case, has suggested the parents are to blame because, well, if they were really concerned about their kids' safety, they'd put them in private schools. But they will also do nothing. So yeah, THOUGHTS AND PRAYERS, guys. We hope that comforts you when you'll never see your child smile again, never hold their hand or comfort them, never see them grow and laugh and live out their life. Thoughts and prayers, but we aren't going to do a goddamn thing, because our money and power are more important than what the majority of the country wants. Our government is a f*****g cesspool of greed and ineptitude.
The day they ask me to arm myself as a teacher, will be the day I tell them to shove it you know where and quit. I didn’t sign up in the army or to be a police officer. All that is going to do, is make the mafia they call the NRA richer, and arm many mentally unstable teachers who are at their breaking point. They will lose teachers by the droves if they try to arm us. Enough is enough.
Load More Replies... Kerr's time with Gregg Popovich was well spent. You're in the media with a soapbox, USE IT. I'm personally sick of the "But, my FREEDOMS!" attitude here in America. Society is built upon social contracts for the betterment of the whole... except here...
Universal background checks should be a bare minimum for owning a gun. There also needs to be a limit on how much ammunition you can buy. Sure people can go to multiple stores and stockpile but the odds of someone noticing go up drastically if they do. This pathetic little tiny dicked manchild bought 375 rounds of ammunition for his 'sport rifle'. No one needs that much in one go for any legitimate reason. There could be exceptions for gun clubs and such who obviously might want to buy in bulk. In the UK I can't buy more than two packs of painkillers in one go in case I'm trying to kill myself (as a chronic pain sufferer this is annoying but it's an inconvenience I accept as the figures show it does reduce suicide), but American gun nuts (as opposed to responsible gun owners) won't agree to any kind of delay or inconvenience when buying their guns and ammunition even if it might make this kind of mass murder just a little harder to accomplish.
i believe i've read in the past that in other countries (UAE is one), you buy the ammunition, and then if you want to get more, you have to return the spent casings, the full amount of them, which just makes solid sense to me. japan and new zealand both have a huge number of steps involved to get a gun, with a lot of time and interviews with your friends and family, home checks, training, etc. the US is a weird, violent outlier, and most of us hate it.
Load More Replies... If so many people wanted things to change where do Republicans get their votes from?
The uvalde school shooting affected those in nearby towns too. In my hometown of hondo we all know someone who was in or affected by the shooting. On Wednesday the day after everyone was crying bc they couldn't find their missing cousins or they found out the truth. My best friend knew Irma Garcia personally and now that her husband died from a heart attack ( really a broken heart) she's just depressed now and I can't do anything about it.None should have to watch their vice principal break down crying bc we all lost someone to that disturbed shooter. Now condolences won't ever heal them. Can we just realize that u need a background check to purchase a gun and there needs to be an age limit.
We really need to do a better job on voting for our leaders. Most of them, yes most, are not suited for the job. There should be term limits and age restrictions. I don't mean to sound ageist, an 80 year old shouldn't be in charge of anything. Their ideas are not up to date with modern ideologies and frankly at that age you should be wanting to enjoy your last few years of life not attempting to push your old ways into your great grandchildren's generation.
And folks, this is just one area where we are severely troubled. Look around. Every institution is suffering from the ravages of GREED (and yes all the -isms included, it's all greed). We have to redefine our priorities as Americans and build a country that reflects this. Building and sustaining a system off of the suppression and oppression of every day people (aka all of us) has SEVERE consequences. This ain't it yall.
And on the other end of the former pro athlete political intelligence spectrum, we have Herschel Walker, fresh from a primary victory to be the GOP's candidate for US Senate from Georgia, and his take when asked if he supported any new gun laws in the wake of Texas' shooting: "What I like to — what I like to do is see it and everything and stuff...."
Yeah, that was... something else. A senatorial candidate, for f***s sake.
Load More Replies... Owned guns our whole lives. Literally never met a gun-owner who didn't support all manner of gun control and mandatory training until the last few years. Who are you psychos. Honestly. Any responsible owner would never let some untrained rando anywhere near our weapons. The most basic of logic.
His speech made me cry and I agreed with every word. The problem is the NRA, which owns the government and all of the politicians. It’s not in their favor to limit their gun sales or do background checks. In the meantime, I have to have the talk with my students and tell them that they are safe, when I sure as hell know it’s not true. Teachers, kids, and parents are terrified.
I saw this and found it very moving. Sadly the mass shootings never stop and I don't think they ever will. It's baked into the way of life. Those responsible seem to love guns more than their children and I know this is true because if it wasn't they'd have done SOMETHING about it, wouldn't they??
America just doesn't seem like a real place anymore. Everything that happens is to the absolute extreme. So many mass shootings, SO many school shootings. How can these still be happening?? These shootings don't happen anywhere else! So many entitled people prancing around thinking white privilege is something that actually applies to all white people regardless of any other factor is just remarkable. Teachers of children teaching four year olds about masturbation and dressing up like drag queens without informing parents and then getting upset when parents find out and get mad about it. There's so much happening, it's like an unfunny 'comedy' show, for an outsider like me it's just bizarre and unnerving to observe. I know I went off on a tangent there, I apologise.
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