The Impassioned Plea for Gun Control Delivered By NBA Coach Steve Kerr

Golden State Warriors coach, Steve Kerr, did not want to talk about basketball on Tuesday night but about the shootings in Texas and gun control.

In his pregame news conference heading into Game 4 of the Western Conference finals against the Dallas Mavericks, he said “basketball didn’t matter.”

He went on to deliver one of the most impassioned speeches for gun control after nineteen children and two adults were killed by a lone shooter at Robb Elementary School in Uvalde, Texas.

Kerr: I am tired of offering condolences to shooting victims

“When are we going to do something?” Kerr yelled, slamming his fists on the table.

“I’m tired. I am so tired of getting up here and offering condolences to the devastated families that are out there,” proclaimed Kerr. “I am so tired of the excuse, I am sorry, I am tired of the moments of silence. Enough!”

Kerr has long been outspoken against gun violence. His father was shot dead in a terrorist attack in Beirut in 1984, and he has spent much of his professional life calling for gun law reform.

NBA Coach urges politicians to legislate gun control

On numerous occasions, including Tuesday, Kerr has pointed to H.R.8, a bill that would tighten background check rules for firearm transfers amongst private parties. That bill passed in the U.S. House of Representatives in early 2021, but it never got to the Senate floor.

“There’s a reason why they won’t vote on it,” Kerr said. “To hold on to power.”

As he looked into the camera, he continued, “So I ask you: [Senate Minority Leader] Mitch McConnell, I ask all of you senators who refuse to do anything about the violence and school shootings and supermarket shootings. I ask you: Are you going to put your own desire for power ahead of the lives of our children and our elderly and our churchgoers? Because that’s what it looks like. It’s what we do every week.”