While the Golden State Warriors are in Texas to take on the Dallas Mavericks for Game 4 of the Western Conference Finals, the focus of Warriors coach Steve Kerr is elsewhere in the state.
In his pregame press conference, Kerr quickly announced that nothing regarding the team had changed since its practice early in the day. What had changed was that since that practice, a shooting at a school in Uvalde, Texas had taken place. In his press conference, Kerr said that 14 children and a teacher had been killed. That number has, sadly, since increased to 18 children and an adult.
With that in mind, Kerr wanted to talk about the shooting and the lack of action in the United State Senate to even vote on a measure that would require background checks.
Kerr has had experience with gun violence. His father, Malcolm Kerr, was the president of the American University in Beirut when he was murdered by two gunmen while Steve was at the University of Arizona. He also played two separate stints with the San Antonio Spurs in his career and Uvalde is roughly 80 miles outside of San Antonio.
Many people on social media heard Kerr’s comments and rallied behind them.
Stop and listen https://t.co/0dCvqEdXYa
— D.J. Short (@djshort) May 25, 2022
All of this https://t.co/4RB3p2ujHx
— Chris Harris (@ChrisHarrisWSMV) May 25, 2022
Additional statements have been issued by professional sports teams in Texas including the Spurs, Houston Rockets, Houston Astros, Texas Rangers, Dallas Cowboys and Houston Texans. The Mavericks also retweeted the NBA’s statement, as well as Kerr’s press conference. Dallas coach Steve Kerr also made a statement about the shooting in his press conference.
Further updates regarding the situation in Dallas can be found at CNN.com.