Kerr lauds diversity before Pride Night
Though other NBA head coaches generally stick to basketball, Steve Kerr has emerged as a consistent voice in public discourse.
With the Warriors hosting LGBTQ Pride Night on Wednesday, Kerr stressed the importance of acceptance — especially given the current political climate.
“I don’t think there has ever been a more important time in our country to respect the person next to you regardless of race, creed, color, sexual preference, sexual identity,” Kerr said during his pregame news conference at Oracle Arena.
Golden State is believed to be the first defending NBA champion to host an LGBTQ Pride Night. During Pride month in June, 12 MLB teams hosted Pride Nights. Such occasions are far less frequent in the NBA.
The Warriors previously held an LGBT Pride Night in 2010, four months before a Joe
Lacob-led ownership group purchased the franchise. Rick
Welts, who in 2011 became the first prominent American sports executive to come out as gay, has served as Golden State’s president for the past six years.
“I’m really encouraged by my kids’ experience in California growing up, just in terms of acceptance,” Kerr said. “It seems like our young generation is learning more about it. We all just are who we are. We’re all individuals, and what makes our country great is our diversity. The fact that we can respect each other, work together and embrace each other, I think it’s an important night for us, and we welcome everybody in the LGBTQ community.
“Maybe if you’re coming to the game tonight and your child says, ‘What’s that?’ explain it to them. Explain to them the importance of loving the person next to you, no matter who they are and where they come from. They’re human beings. We’re all human beings. We’re all in this together.”
Kerr also reiterated Wednesday that he hopes the NBA will consider allowing players to use cannabis for medicinal purposes. In December, he admitted in a podcast interview that he has tried marijuana twice to help with complications stemming from back surgery.
“I do think it’ll happen eventually,” Kerr said of the NBA permitting players to use medicinal marijuana. “… It becomes about how you do it, how you regulate it. You’ve got to differentiate between medicinal marijuana and recreational marijuana. I don’t think it makes sense for everyone to use recreational marijuana. I do think it makes sense for certain injuries. I don’t know how that manifests itself, but the league would be wise to look into it.”
G-League assignments: Golden State has assigned center
Damian Jones to its Gatorade League affiliate in Santa Cruz, the team announced Wednesday afternoon. Additionally, Golden State’s two players on two-way deals — guard Quinn Cook and forward Chris Boucher — are with Santa Cruz. In his only appearance with Golden State, Cook had two points in one minute of Saturday’s loss to Memphis. Boucher is still recovering from a torn ACL suffered while playing for Oregon in the Pac-12 tournament.
The Santa Cruz Warriors opened training camp Tuesday at Kaiser Permanente Arena.