Steve Kerr Speaks Out Against 'Terrible' Donald Trump Assassination Attempt

Patrick Andres | Jul 14, 2024

Mar 29, 2024; Charlotte, North Carolina, USA; Golden State Warriors head coach Steve Kerr reacts as the Warriors play against the Charlotte Hornets during the second half at Spectrum Center. / Nell Redmond-USA TODAY Sports

Having lived through the grief of his father's 1984 assassination in Beirut, Golden State Warriors coach Steve Kerr spoke out accordingly Sunday morning in Abu Dhabi a day after what is being investigated as an attempt on the life of former president Donald Trump.

"It's such a demoralizing day for our country, and it's yet another example of not only our political division but also gun culture," Kerr said via Brian Windhorst of ESPN. "A 20-year-old with an AR-15 trying to shoot the former president. It's hard to process everything, and it's scary to think about where this goes because of the issues that already exist in the country. So this is a terrible day."

Trump was shot in the ear Saturday at a rally in Butler, Penn.. One audience member was killed and two were injured; the now-deceased suspect is Thomas Matthew Crooks, 20, of Bethel Park, Penn..

"It's obviously a very sad time in general," Warriors guard Stephen Curry said. "All the conversations around the election and the state of politics in our country, and then you have a situation like this, which just (evokes) a lot of emotions around things that we need to correct as a people."

Kerr and Curry are both training with the U.S. national team for the Olympics, which begin July 26 in Paris.

"This is a time where we feel very proud to represent our country wearing USA on our chest, competing in the Olympics," Kerr said. "We've talked to the players about how important it is to show the best version of us as human beings to represent our country in a respectful, dignified manner. It makes you want to do that even more so, because this is really shameful for us to sit here and think about what happened and what's going on in our country."