Golden State Warriors coach Steve Kerr didn’t initially have much to say about the growing NBA-China controversy, but he was quick to respond after the president called him out. Donald Trump mocked Kerr as a “little boy” who didn’t have anything to say relating to the drama after previously being outspoken on politics, and Kerr caught wind.
Kerr spoke to reporters on Thursday night and immediately reacted after being asked about the president’s comments.
“It was really surprising,” Kerr said, via ESPN.com. “But mainly just because it was me. Then you stop and you think, this is just every day. This is just another day. I was the shiny object yesterday. There was another one today; there will be a new one tomorrow. And the circus will go on. It’s just strange, but it happened. If we had been thinking earlier I was going to ride in on a tricycle. With one of those beanies with the propeller — because he called me a little boy.”
“I realize the horse was out of the barn a long time 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, and I think it will happen.”
Kerr previously refused to comment on the controversy citing a lack of knowledge.
“Actually, I don’t. It’s a really bizarre international story and a lot of us don’t know what to make of it. So it’s something I’m reading about just like everybody is but I’m not going to comment further than that,” Kerr told reporters. “What I’ve found is that it’s easy to speak on issues that I’m passionate about and that I feel like I’m well-versed on and I’ve found that it makes the most sense to stick to topics that fall in that category. So I try to keep my comments to those things and so it’s not difficult. It’s more I’m just trying to learn.
“My brother in law is actually a Chinese history professor and I emailed him today to tell me what I should be learning about all this and what’s happening and so I’m trying to learn just like everybody else.”
Now, we will have to see if he continues to discuss the comments or whether he ultimately decides to try to ride out the wave and hopes that the NBA-China feud passes.
