{"id":47952,"date":"2026-04-29T10:55:54","date_gmt":"2026-04-29T17:55:54","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/occupysf.net\/?p=47952"},"modified":"2026-04-29T10:56:03","modified_gmt":"2026-04-29T17:56:03","slug":"47952","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"http:\/\/occupysf.net\/index.php\/2026\/04\/29\/47952\/","title":{"rendered":"Steve Kerr keeps speaking out on politics, whether Warriors like it or not"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

By\u00a0Ron Kroichick<\/a>, Staff Writer Updated\u00a0April 28, 2026 (SFChronicle.com)<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Gift Article<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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Warriors head coach Steve\u00a0Kerr has not been shy about expressing his views on social issues, including politics, and gun violence.\u00a0Stephen Lam\/S.F. Chronicle<\/em><\/a><\/a><\/a><\/a><\/p>\n\n\n\n

As Steve Kerr<\/a>\u2019s future as Golden State Warriors<\/a> head coach twists in doubt, one thing remains abundantly clear: Kerr will continue to speak his mind on political issues, no matter the ramifications. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

The latest example came when Kerr sat down last week for an interview with the New Yorker.<\/a> The story posted Sunday on the magazine\u2019s website, amid lingering uncertainty about whether Kerr will return to the Warriors next season \u2014 and suggestions his public candor on politics doesn\u2019t always sit well with others in the organization. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Kerr did the interview as a favor to his mom,\u00a0Ann Kerr<\/a>, he wrote in a text exchange Monday with the Chronicle. The author of the New Yorker piece, Charles Bethea, wrote a profile of Ann Kerr in 2018.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

At one point in the interview, after Steve Kerr praised his dad Malcolm\u2019s intelligence, patience and dignity, Bethea observed, \u201cA different kind of leadership than you see nowadays.\u201d <\/p>\n\n\n\n

More For You<\/p>\n\n\n\n

What will Steve Kerr or his Warriors successor have to work with for 2026-27?<\/a><\/p>\n\n\n\n

<\/a><\/p>\n\n\n\n\n\n

<\/a><\/p>\n\n\n\n

If Steve Kerr doesn\u2019t come back, where could Warriors find his replacement?<\/a><\/p>\n\n\n\n

<\/a><\/p>\n\n\n\n\n\n

<\/a><\/p>\n\n\n\n

Kerr pounced.\u00a0<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cI think we\u2019re as weak as we\u2019ve ever been as a country, at least in a long time, because our leadership is so misguided,\u201d he said, without mentioning President Donald Trump by name. \u201cThere\u2019s a lack of humility, a lack of dignity, a lack of understanding of the world, a lack of embracing other perspectives. The belligerence.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Malcolm Kerr was a UCLA professor and Middle East scholar who became president of American University of Beirut. He was assassinated outside his office in January 1984 at age 52. Members of what became Hezbollah (a militant group allied with Iran) claimed responsibility for the killing. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Given Steve Kerr\u2019s interest in politics, and his deeply personal connection to the ongoing Middle East conflict, Bethea then asked him about the war in Lebanon and Iran. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cMy dad was killed by Iranian proxies 42 years ago,\u201d Kerr said. \u201cI have no regard for the Iranian regime whatsoever. But the answer does not lie in starting a war and killing innocent people.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cImagine being a parent of one of the 175 girls who died when their school was bombed. Their loss, their suffering. \u2026 How are they going to feel about America? Violence begets violence.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Kerr spoke to the New Yorker on April 20, three days after his team\u2019s season-ending, play-in tournament loss to Phoenix. In his postgame news conference that night, Kerr expressed uncertainty about his coaching future \u2014 his contract runs out this summer \u2014 and noted all coaching jobs have an \u201cexpiration date,\u201d sounding ready to walk away.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Then, last week, two reports suggested Kerr\u2019s penchant for political commentary has ruffled feathers within the Warriors. ESPN\u2019s Marc Spears, appearing on 95.7 The Game, referenced Kerr speaking out on issues involving social justice, racism and gun violence before adding, \u201cI\u2019ve heard maybe he\u2019s being stifled a little bit in that regard. I\u2019ve heard maybe some people are tired of his voice. \u2026 If it\u2019s true people want him to be a little more quiet, I\u2019m sure that might not sit too well with him.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Later in the week, the Athletic\u2019s Nick Friedell cited league and team sources as saying, \u201cKerr\u2019s desire to speak candidly on social and political issues has at times caused internal frustration.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Kerr declined the Chronicle\u2019s interview request Monday. A Warriors spokesperson said owner Joe Lacob and general manager Mike Dunleavy wouldn\u2019t be available until after Kerr\u2019s situation is resolved.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Later in the New Yorker interview, while reflecting on his blunt criticism of Trump after he was first elected president in 2016 (including calling him a \u201cbuffoon\u201d), Kerr acknowledged he needed to soften his tone given his role as the public voice of the Warriors.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cI was so disgusted I didn\u2019t hold back,\u201d he said of his \u201916 rant. \u201cI\u2019ve learned I need to be better in terms of representing our organization in a way that I could still let my feelings be known but not get too personal. I\u2019m representing a large group of people.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Kerr has long railed against gun violence, including a May 2022 news conference hours after the Uvalde, Texas, elementary school shooting that killed 19 students and two teachers. He slammed U.S. senators for not voting on legislation calling for universal background checks.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

More recently, in January, Kerr criticized Immigrations and Customs Enforcement officials for their role in the killing of Minneapolis resident Renee Nicole Good. Kerr condemned Good\u2019s shooting by an ICE agent, saying, \u201cIt\u2019s shameful we can have law enforcement officers who commit murder and seemingly get away with it.\u201d <\/p>\n\n\n\n

About two weeks later, the Warriors were in Minneapolis when Alex Pretti, one of thousands of protesters of the government\u2019s immigration policy, was killed by Department of Homeland Security officials. Kerr expressed his sympathy, then eventually waded into the issue of immigration reform.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cWe\u2019re really hopeful the protests here and nationwide will lead to a much better solution for immigration,\u201d Kerr said. \u201cIt\u2019s not like they\u2019re rooting out violent criminals. They\u2019re taking 5-year-old kindergartners, U.S. citizens, and detaining people. Immigration is a problem that needs to be addressed by Congress, legislatively, not by military force in the streets pulling people from their homes.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Later that week, Kerr acknowledged he \u201cmisspoke,\u201d knew ICE was arresting criminals and apologized for the comment. He repeated his criticism of the government for detaining people who \u201cshould not be detained\u201d and the manner in which it was apprehending people.\u00a0<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Among other notable quotes in Kerr\u2019s interview with the New Yorker:<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u2022 On the divisiveness in the U.S., which he said was happening before Trump: \u201cHe definitely has taken advantage of that to gain and consolidate power, and he\u2019s using it to drive a wedge between all of us. He\u2019s not the only one who\u2019s done that, but he\u2019s the president. He\u2019s got the most power. But calling the president a buffoon, I kind of regret that even though I felt it in my heart.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u2022 On whether he regrets not speaking out when the NBA reprimanded then-Rockets general manager Daryl Morey for a tweet supporting anti-government protesters in Hong Kong: \u201cYeah. I was wrong. We had a lot of players on our team (who) were doing business in China. A lot of our players would go there in the offseason and the NBA had this huge relationship with China. \u2026 I didn\u2019t handle it well. I was trying to walk the company line and not make the NBA mad.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u2022 On the oft-discussed possibility he could pursue public office after his coaching career: \u201cI don\u2019t have any desire to go into politics. I love basketball. This is my world. All of my friends and my people are in this world. And whether I keep coaching the Warriors or not, I imagine I\u2019ll be involved in basketball.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

That Kerr agreed to the New Yorker interview \u2014 his only public comments since the April 17 news conference in Phoenix \u2014 shouldn\u2019t come as a surprise. Ann Kerr always has had an affinity for the magazine.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

In October 2024, during a Chronicle interview for a profile of his mom, Steve Kerr feigned anger about Ann (instead of him or one of his brothers) joining his dad for UCLA-USC football games when Steve was a kid. He recalled how she loved the atmosphere of the big college football rivalry \u2014 and how she typically brought a copy of the New Yorker with her. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

April 27, 2026|Updated April 28, 2026 8:11 a.m.<\/p>\n\n\n\n\n\n

Ron Kroichick<\/a><\/p>\n\n\n\n

Senior Sports Enterprise Reporter<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Senior sports enterprise reporter Ron Kroichick has worked at the San Francisco Chronicle since 1995. Kroichick writes about the Warriors during the NBA season, and various other topics \u2014 from the 49ers and major-league baseball to college football and basketball \u2014 the rest of the year. He\u2019s also the Chronicle\u2019s golf columnist, covering the AT&T Pebble Beach Pro-Am and all major championships in Northern California.

Kroichick has earned numerous writing awards, including first-place Sports Feature recognition from the San Francisco Press Club for his 2024 piece on UCLA faculty member Ann Kerr, the mom of Warriors coach Steve Kerr. Kroichick also teamed with Lance Williams to land top-10 honors in Investigative Reporting (from the Associated Press Sports Editors), for their coverage of the 49ers\u2019 contentious relationship with the city of Santa Clara.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

By\u00a0Ron Kroichick, Staff Writer Updated\u00a0April 28, 2026 (SFChronicle.com) Gift Article Warriors head coach Steve\u00a0Kerr has not been shy about expressing his views on social issues, including politics, and gun violence.\u00a0Stephen Lam\/S.F. Chronicle As Steve Kerr\u2019s future as Golden State Warriors head coach twists in doubt, one thing remains abundantly clear: Kerr will continue… Continue reading → <\/span><\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[1],"tags":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"http:\/\/occupysf.net\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/47952"}],"collection":[{"href":"http:\/\/occupysf.net\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"http:\/\/occupysf.net\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/occupysf.net\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/occupysf.net\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=47952"}],"version-history":[{"count":2,"href":"http:\/\/occupysf.net\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/47952\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":47955,"href":"http:\/\/occupysf.net\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/47952\/revisions\/47955"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"http:\/\/occupysf.net\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=47952"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/occupysf.net\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=47952"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/occupysf.net\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=47952"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}