Golden State Warriors head coach Steve Kerr has been one of the three outspoken coaches in the league, who have shown a clear dislike for the current presidential regime of Donald Trump since his days campaigning for the presidency.
Now crowned NBA champions, the team could soon receive an invitation to the White House, as customary, but many had expected the Warriors to be the first NBA team to formally decline an invitation under Trump.
ESPN's Chris Haynes reported last week that after speaking to players, none of which are Trump supporters, there would be “a fat chance in hell” that they accept an invitation.
It seems after all that chance might have gotten a little more likely, as Kerr first commented on the matter on Wednesday.
“I would want to make sure the players gave this really a lot of thought,” Kerr told “The TK Show” podcast. “And everybody knows I've been a very outspoken critic of Trump, and as a result, maybe we won't even get the invitation. But I do think it's very important to consider a potential invitation because I think it could have really positive ramifications if we did go.”
Several players, including point guard Stephen Curry and sixth man Andre Iguodala have been notably opposed to visiting the White House, though Kerr has marinated this issue for a few days since coming down from the high of a second NBA championship.
Kerr said on ESPN's The Lowe Post podcast last week that “there's a respect for the institution, for the office. There's a respect for our government that I think you have to take into account regardless of people's opinions of the person sitting in that chair.”
He doubled down on his stance on Wednesday and said, “I think it could make a statement in a time where there's so much divide and everybody seems to be angry with each other. It might be a good statement for us to go. And to show that, ‘Hey, let's put this aside, put all this partisan stuff aside and personal stuff aside, respect the institution.'”
“Maybe even if you know, if one of you players wants to voice your concerns over what's happening, what better opportunity to do so. Now, that may be incredibly idealistic. But I would want to at least bring that up with our players as an option rather than just coming out and saying, ‘No way, I'm not going.'”
While this doesn't guarantee the Warriors will attend if an invitation is extended, the team will surely listen to their vocal leader, and a figure they've looked up to throughout the season in Kerr, who hopes this “symbolic gesture” can be the start of connecting a clear divide in the nation.
“We all have to start thinking about ways we can connect with one another and stop this divide, and maybe sports is a good sort of forum to try to help that,” he said. “This is not about partisan policy, it's not about Democrat or Republican, it's about communication, it's about respect, it's about character and morality,” he said. “And those are things that we have to really value as a country.”
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