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During the NBA season, Warriors head coach Steve Kerr often uses the press-conference podium to address social issues.
But it’s the offseason right now. So instead, one of the sports world’s most vocal critics of President Donald Trump spoke to The Standard about the militarized response to protests of the administration’s intensifying immigration agenda.
“So this is obviously just a classic page out of Trump’s playbook: create a crisis in order to look like you’re solving it, using it as a political win, creating further divide,” Kerr told The Standard. “It’s so disappointing that we don’t have a president that’s actually focused on uniting us, and instead just continuing the divide that is happening in our country.”
Demonstrations in Los Angeles have sparked similar protests in other cities, including San Francisco. They come in the wake of the administration’s stepped-up efforts to deport immigrants.
Trump responded to the L.A. protests by sending thousands of National Guard members to the city, over the objections of Gov. Gavin Newsom. (Presidents typically deploy the National Guard only at a governor’s request.) Trump also sent Marines to L.A., despite state leaders saying federal force wasn’t necessary to quell mostly peaceful protests.
U.S. troops are generally prohibited from performing domestic law enforcement, and the administration’s stated legal basis for deploying them is in dispute.
“It’s disappointing that Trump overruled Gov. Newsom on this, because traditionally you only call in the National Guard if the state can’t handle it, and there was nothing that the state of California couldn’t handle on its own,” Kerr said.
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Newsom has filed lawsuits against the administration to block the troop deployments.
Trump campaigned on mass deportations of undocumented immigrants. On Friday, U.S. Immigrations and Customs Enforcement agents reportedly conducted raids on businesses in Los Angeles such as Home Depot, sparking protests at federal buildings downtown and more demonstrations in the majority Latino neighborhood of Paramount.
“Peaceful protest is one of the sacred rights in our country,” Kerr said. “As soon as it becomes violent, then the authorities have to step in. And we’re well-equipped in California to handle that on our own, as Gov. Newsom has made clear. But the protests themselves are as American as apple pie as long as they don’t turn violent. Like I said, then it’s up to the authorities to handle, and that’s how you handle these things. But we didn’t need Marines and National Guard. It’s just another fake show of force designed to create confusion politically.”
Authorities have described the protests as mostly peaceful, though right-wing commentators have sought to amplify images of Waymo cars set on fire and other unrest such as looting and property damage. According to The New York Times, there were 27 arrests Saturday, 40 on Sunday, 114 on Monday, and more than 200 Tuesday.
When Trump announced the military intervention, Newsom said it was a move to manufacture chaos and violence. Trump then suggested Newsom should be arrested.
In an address Tuesday night, Newsom warned that Trump’s actions with the National Guard and Marines are a slippery slope.
“California may be first, but it clearly will not end here,” the governor said. “Other states are next. Democracy is next. Democracy is under assault before our eyes. This moment we have feared has arrived.”
Kerr spoke at the 2024 Democratic National Convention, endorsing nominee Kamala Harris in a speech about leadership and unity. That Chicago address came shortly after Kerr represented the United States at the Paris Olympics, leading Team USA to gold. He has spoken at length in the past about domestic issues, most notably gun violence.
“When are we going to do something?” Kerr pleaded in 2022 after the mass shooting at a school in Uvalde, Texas. “I’m tired. I am so tired of getting up here and offering condolences to the devastated families that are out there. I am so tired of the, excuse, I am sorry, I am tired of the moments of silence. Enough!”
Unrest like this week’s doesn’t make Kerr want to pursue a career in politics, he said. He’s a basketball coach — one who has won four NBA championships with the Warriors and five as a player with the Bulls and Spurs.
“The only thing it makes me want to do is do my part as a citizen and speak up, stand up for people,” Kerr said. “Stand up for our values. But I’m a basketball coach, so I have a platform. That doesn’t make me a politician, but I have a platform, and I’m going to exercise my right to free speech to criticize what the administration is doing.”
Though Kerr knows some people don’t like hearing him wade into topics beyond the court, he doesn’t care about backlash from the proverbial “shut up and dribble” crowd.
“Part of being an American is standing up for what’s right, standing up for the Constitution, standing up for people’s basic rights,” he said.