Posted on 09/26/2017 7:32:21 AM PDT by SeekAndFind
Golden State Warriors Head Coach Steve Kerr released a first-person essay statement as told to Chris Ballard of SI.com on US President Donald Trump's protest comments on Sunday, September 24.
Kerr's NBA championship team was disinvited from the White House after the team deliberated openly about whether they'd be interested in meeting Trump, who in a Washington Post/ABC News poll published Sunday was considered by 66% of respondents to be dividing the country. Trump singled out the team's star guard Stephen Curry in a tweet, an incident which Curry called "surreal."
Kerr wrote that Trump's comments against NFL players who took a knee during the national anthem, whom Trump called "sons of bitches", have "crushed" him, as the players are expressing their protest against violence and racial discrimination within the country. "Instead, we get Trump’s comments over the weekend about NFL players, calling them ‘sons of bitches’ for kneeling during the anthem. Those just crushed me. Crushed me. Just think about what those players are protesting. They’re protesting excessive police violence and racial inequality. Those are really good things to fight against. And they’re doing it in a nonviolent way. Which is everything that Martin Luther King preached, right? A lot of American military members will tell you that the right to free speech is exactly what they fight for. And it’s just really, really upsetting that the leader of our country is calling for these players to be ‘fired.’"
Kerr shared that the president made it difficult for his team to visit the White House with his "offensive words and actions."
"Would we have gone? Probably not. The truth is we all struggled with the idea of spending time with a man who has offended us with his words and actions time and again. But I can tell you one thing: it wouldn’t have been for the traditional ceremony, to shake hands and smile for cameras. Internally, we’d discussed whether it’d be possible to just go and meet as private citizens and have a serious, poignant discussion about some of the issues we’re concerned about. But he’s made it hard for any of us to actually enter the White House, because what’s going on is not normal. It’s childish stuff: belittling people and calling them names," Kerr wrote.
Kerr compared his coaching position to the President's, and reminded that people in positions of power should "respond diplomatically and maintain a level of respect and dignity," as that a failure to do so will result in "embarrassment."
"Look, I’m a basketball coach and what I do obviously pales in comparison to what the president does. But our jobs are similar in at least one respect: If you want to be an NBA coach, you need to be prepared to be criticized. You kind of know that going in. If I coach poorly and we lose the game, I hear about it. That’s okay. It’s really where we coaches earn our money, accepting and dealing with criticism and keeping the ship moving forward. There has to be an inherent understanding when you enter into any public position of power that this is what happens.
"People are going to take shots at you and it’s incumbent upon you to absorb those shots. Maybe you respond diplomatically, but you maintain a level of respect and dignity. What you can’t do is just angrily lash out. Can you imagine if I lashed out at all my critics every day and belittled them? I’d lose my players, I’d embarrass ownership, I’d embarrass myself. Pretty soon I’d be out of a job. It’s a basic adult thing that you learn as you grow up: People aren't always going to agree with you. And that’s OK."
The Warriors head coach ended his essay with a response directed at President Trump, reminding him that he is there to "represent" all American citizens, and not just his base which voted for him.
"Remember, the president works for us, not vice versa. We elected him. He doesn’t just work for his constituents and his base. He works for every citizen. Once you take that office, you have to do what’s best for the entire country. Sure, you’re going to have policies that align with your party, but that’s not the point.
"Respectfully, Mr. Trump, the point is this: You’re the president. You represent all of us. Don’t divide us. Bring us together."
This moron was knocking Trump 24 hrs after the election.
Now he wants concessions and play nice?
Bloody hypocrite.
Translation: Don’t hurt our revenues.
With all due respect, Blow Me Steve
Gee, did he send a letter to Obama in the 8 years of the most divisive rhetoric from an American President? No? oh ok....
NFL = Non-American Football League
This is only ever a one way street with these people.
FOAD, Kerr.
It is the action of YOUR PLAYERS that is DIVISIVE!!!!
Not our reaction to it!!!!
Sure,BLM is doing such a great job uniting the Country. America is uniting against professional sports so keep up the good work Kerr.
Steve, that ship sailed a LONG time ago, and it is the Left that did the dividing. Trump is just holding up the mirror.
Spoiled attention whores who think that we should listen when they tell us how to think.
“Us” means “one nation, under God”.
That’s who President Trump represents. Not some whiny faction of overpaid ball bouncers.
That’s the problem people want to spit on the flag and not hear anybody complain about it, just like they want to take all our money for themselves without working Etc but we’re just supposed to smile and I guess apologize to them?
They want to disrespect our country by supporting BLM (racist, violent lie) on national television. At a minimum, they want to cause political controversy. And they claim the President is causing division when he calls for all to show respect and support for the country and our veterans?
Who is being divisive?
The moronic azzwipe needs to realize that it’s HIS guys that are causing division by disrespecting the country, the flag, the Anthem and the People.
These morons are not providing a basic necessity. They’re providing entertainment and that’s all. People do NOT need to be “entertained by disrespect”.
The flag represents all of us.
The national anthem represents all of us.
Disrespect these — and YOU are dividing America.
I know when I want political information, I go to an NBA coach first
Another over-paid coach heard from. He’s in charge of sitting on the bench while Black men play with a ball.
Obviously, these White coaches are trembling in fear at the thought of Pres. Trump upsetting their racket, but insulting the ticket-buyers isn’t the smartest strategy to keeping their cushy jobs.
Maybe I’m just sick of being told how patriotic it is to disrespect the national anthem and all their other left-wing antics.
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