Steve Kerr’s pregame press conference before Tuesday’s matchup with the Miami Heat had a presidential theme.
Kerr said he plans on watching Barack Obama’s farewell address and recalled a fond memory of watching Obama’s inauguration in 2009. Kerr was the GM on the Phoenix Suns at the time and the entire team was moved watching it together. Kerr’s daughter, Maddy, also attended the inauguration as part of a student trip as a 10-year-old.
The logical follow up question: Would Kerr and the Warriors be willing to visit Donald Trump in the White House?
“I certainly hope that we have to have that decision to make,” Kerr said to laughter. “And I’ll move onto the next question.”
The winning NBA championship has customarily visited the President in Washington D.C. Of course, Kerr was extremely critical of Trump and his supporters back in November.
“The man who is going to lead you is routinely racist, misogynistic, insulting words — that’s a tough one,” Kerr said back on Nov. 9. “I wish him well. I hope he’s a good president. I have no idea what kind of president he’s going to be because he hasn’t said anything about what he’s going to do. We don’t know.
“It’s tough when you want there to be some respect and dignity. There hasn’t been any. You walk into a room with your daughter and your wife who have basically been insulted by his comments. And they’re distraught. You walk in and see the faces of the players who have been insulted directly as minorities, it’s sort of shocking. It really is.
“We talked about it as a team this morning. I don’t know what else to say. Just the whole process has left us feeling disgusted and disappointed. I thought we were better than this. I thought The Jerry Spring Show was The Jerry Springer show. Watching the last debate, Trump would make a crack at Clinton, and you’d hear the fans in the stands (jeering noises) ‘Oh know he didn’t.’ Yes he did. This is a presidential election not The Jerry Springer Show.”