Coach’s remarks: Dignity has left Oval Office, Kerr says.
In his first public comments since President Trump mocked him for his response to the NBA’s ongoing rift with China, Warriors head coach Steve Kerr on Thursday voiced how much he believes Trump has tarnished the Oval Office.
“Last night, I was thinking about my various visits to the White House,” Kerr said. “I’ve lived a privileged life and met I think the past five presidents prior to President Trump. The first one was in 1984, and Ronald Reagan was president. He invited my mom and me, six months after my dad was killed in a terrorist attack. President Reagan and Vice President Bush invited us into the Oval Office and spent about a halfhour with us, thanking us for my dad’s service.
“He was in education, thanking us for my dad’s commitment to trying to share American values in the Middle East, trying to promote peace in the Middle East. All I could think about last night was the contrast in what has happened over the past 35 years. There was no regard for whose side you were on, political party or anything like that. It was just, ‘You were an American.’
“The office held such dignity and respect, both from the people who were visiting and especially from the people who sat inside it. It’s just sad that it has come crashing down, and we’re now living this. I realize the horse was out of the barn a long time ago on this, but for me personally, this was my experience with, ‘Wow, has the office sunken low.’ ”
“My hope is that we can find a mature unifier from either party to sit in that chair and try to restore some dignity to the Oval Office again. I think it’ll happen.”
Kerr had just finished meeting with reporters Wednesday afternoon when he received a text from Warriors vice president of communications Raymond Ridder alerting him to Trump’s comments, which included calling Kerr “a little boy” for how he answered a question about the recent backlash from China surrounding Houston Rockets general manager Daryl Morey’s comments in support of Hong Kong. Within moments, Kerr’s phone was flooded with messages about Trump.
Kerr called the experience “surreal” and “very, very strange” before saying that Trump would quickly move on to “his next bullying victim.” Asked for his thoughts on the NBA’s fractured relationship with China, Kerr reiterated his comments from Monday, explaining why he doesn’t feel comfortable speaking on the issue.
“It is an absolutely tricky situation for all of us to be in,” Kerr said. “I’ve been to China twice in the past two years, once with the Warriors and once with Team USA. Basketball is wildly popular over there. So, from my perspective, the NBA is doing a lot of great things in terms of helping to unify people in the world. The game itself is a unifier, and I think that’s important.
“Then all of a sudden, that is meeting these political forces and business forces, and we’re sort of thrust in the middle of it. Frankly, we don’t really know what to make of it. We’re here. We’re being asked about it. I have done a lot of research in the last few days. I’ve learned more about both sides and what’s going on.
“One of the things I’ve learned is this story has many vantage points, depending on where you’re looking from. So for me to sit here and say, ‘I feel really comfortable making this statement,’ it’s not my place. Just like I wouldn’t make any comments on the tariff war. I don’t know anything about that. What’s going on in our country? I’m very comfortable talking about what’s going on in our country. I’m a citizen of this country.”