Steve Kerr has always been one to use his platform to speak out on important issues.
Instead of talking about tonight’s Game 4 matchup against the Dallas Mavericks, the Golden State Warriors head coach used his pregame press conference to discuss today’s tragic school shooting at a Texas elementary school.
Kerr refused to answer any questions about basketball and instead gave an impassioned speech calling for action from United States leaders.
Kerr said he’s “fed up” with this continued gun violence and pleaded with the public to not go “numb” to it. He also directly called out Senate minority leader Mitch McConnell.
Take a look at the full speech, transcribed by The Mercury News, here:
“I’m not going to talk about basketball. Nothing’s happened with our team in the last six hours. We’re going to start the same way tonight. Any basketball questions don’t matter.
“Since we left shootaround, 14 children were killed 400 miles from here, and a teacher. In the last 10 days, we’ve had elderly black people killed in a supermarket in Buffalo, we’ve had Asian churchgoers killed in Southern California, now we have children murdered at school.
“When are we going to do something? I’m tired. I’m so tired of getting up here and offering condolences to the devastated families that are out there. I’m so tired. Excuse me. I’m sorry. I’m tired of the moments of silence. Enough.
“There’s 50 Senators right now who refuse to vote on HR8, which is a background check rule that the House passed a couple years ago. It’s been sitting there for two years. There’s a reason they won’t vote on it: to hold onto power.
“I ask you, Mitch McConnell, all of you Senators who refuse to do anything about the violence, school shootings, 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. That’s what we do every week.
“So I’m fed up. I’ve had enough. We’re going to play the game tonight. But I want every person here, every person listening to this, to think about your own child or grandchild, mother or father, sister, brother. How would you feel if this happened to you today?
“We can’t get numb to this. We can’t sit here and just read about it and go, well, let’s have a moment of silence. Go Dubs. C’mon, Mavs, let’s go. That’s what we’re going to do. We’re going to go play a basketball game.
“Fifty Senators in Washington are going to hold us hostage. Do you realize that 90 percent of Americans, regardless of political party, want background checks, universal background checks? Ninety percent of us. We are being held hostage by 50 Senators in Washington who refuse to even put it to a vote, despite what we the American people want.
“They won’t vote on it because they want to hold onto their own power. It’s pathetic. I’ve had enough.”
18 children and one teacher were killed on Tuesday after a gunman opened fire at Robb Elementary in Uvalde, Texas.
The Warriors’ Western Conference Finals Game 4 against the Mavericks is still set to tipoff in Dallas at 9 p.m. ET.