Back from Paris after coaching the U.S. men’s basketball team to a gold medal, Steve Kerr spoke Monday at the Democratic National Convention in Chicago — and the Warriors coach brought the house down at United Center by borrowing a taunt from a certain Golden State superstar.
By Des Bieler
As Kerr uttered the final words, he tilted his head into his pressed-together hands, just as Curry did in letting France know his barrage of late-game three-pointers had put that country’s gold medal dreams to bed.
Frequently outspoken on social issues, Kerr has criticized Trump in the past. But his convention speech was mainly focused on supporting the team of Vice President Kamala Harris and running mate Tim Walz. To make his point, Kerr referred frequently to his squad’s triumph in Paris.
“The joy, the compassion, the commitment to our country that we saw at the Olympics — that is what Kamala Harris and Tim Walz have, and it’s what our country needs,” Kerr said. “Real leadership.”
The Warriors coach took a playful jab at Walz’s strategic acumen years ago as a defensive coordinator for a Minnesota high school football team, and Kerr also referenced the “shut up and dribble” line that Fox News host Laura Ingraham delivered in 2018 while discussing NBA stars Kevin Durant, then a member of the Warriors, and LeBron James.
“I know very well that speaking out about politics these days comes with risks,” Kerr said. “I can see the ‘shut up and whistle’ tweets being fired off right now. But I also knew, as soon as I was asked, that it was too important as an American citizen not to speak up in an election of this magnitude.”
Steve Kerr at the Democratic National Convention: “In the words of the great Steph Curry, we can tell Donald Trump Night Night”
— TheWarriorsTalk (@TheWarriorsTalk) August 20, 2024
pic.twitter.com/eUDeUgVuZ5
Kerr came onstage in Chicago to “Sirius,” an Alan Parsons Project song that served as the theme music for the Bulls’ pregame introductions during the team’s championship heyday. As a sharpshooting guard, Kerr played alongside Michael Jordan and helped the Chicago icon win the final three of his six NBA championships.
“It is so fun to be back here in the United Center,” Kerr said at the outset of his remarks Monday. “And as you guys know, a lot of good stuff has happened in this building, especially in the ’90s. You young people: Google ‘Michael Jordan,’ and you can read all about it. There was an amazing vibe in this building back in those days, and I feel that same winning spirit here tonight.”
Kerr’s playing days included two more NBA titles with the San Antonio Spurs before he eventually became the coach of the Warriors and led that team to four championships. In his convention speech, though, he indicated that nothing topped helping his Olympic players earn gold.
“I cannot think of a better metaphor for what this country’s all about than the way Team USA came together at the Olympics,” Kerr said. “And when we won — the American flag raised to the rafters, the national anthem playing, gold medals draped around the necks of our players, whose hands were held over their hearts — it was the proudest moment of my life.”
While competing at the Summer Games — having arrived in France days after Joe Biden’s momentous withdrawal from the presidential race — Kerr and Curry offered public backing for Harris, whose political roots run deep in the Warriors’ home region.
“Hopefully, if she’s on the ticket, winning the election, it’s a big deal to say the least,” Curry said of Harris at a news conference last month. “She represents the Bay Area. She’s been a big supporter of us, and so I want to give that energy right back to her.”
“Kamala Harris is a great candidate,” Kerr said that day at practice, “and I will support her.”
Curry and his Golden State teammates drew Trump’s ire in 2017, after it became apparent that the then-champion Warriors had no intention of making the traditional visit to the White House.
“Going to the White House is considered a great honor for a championship team,” Trump tweeted at the time. “Stephen Curry is hesitating, therefore invitation is withdrawn!”
After winning another championship in 2018, Curry and Co. used a road trip to Washington several months later to visit former president Barack Obama, rather than Trump’s White House.
On Monday, Kerr said he accepted an invitation to speak at the Democratic convention because he believed in “a certain kind of leadership.”
“I believe that leaders must display dignity. I believe that leaders must tell the truth,” he said. “I believe that leaders should be able to laugh at themselves. I believe leaders must care for and love the people they are leading. I believe leaders must possess knowledge and expertise, but with full awareness that none of us has all the answers. … With Kamala Harris and Tim Walz, I see all those qualities.”
Before closing with his “night, night” poke at Trump, Kerr returned to Team USA’s Olympic victory.
“Think about what our team achieved with 12 Americans in Paris — putting aside rivalries to represent our country,” the 58-year-old coach said. “Now imagine what we could do with all 330 million of us playing on the same team. Not as Democrats. Not as Republicans. Not as Libertarians. But as Americans.”
