Golden State Warriors head coach Steve Kerr has given a powerful message impelling congress to end gun violence after a school shooting in Texas left 21 people dead.
The Warriors were playing the Dallas Mavericks in a crucial NBA playoff game, but Kerr, a long-time advocate for gun control and whose father died in a 1984 terrorist attack in Beirut, said it was time to take action.
“I’m not going to talk about basketball,” an emotional Kerr said at the pre-game press conference on Tuesday, before slamming his hands on the table and shouting: “When are we gonna do something?!”
Kerr, one of the most prominent figures in the NBA, added: “I’m tired. I am so tired of getting up here and offering condolences to the devastated families that are out there. I’m so tired of the ‘excuse me, I’m sorry’, I am tired of the moments of silence. Enough.”
Kerr made a direct plea to senators and members of Congress to push through a gun control bill which failed to pass into legislation last year, directing his ire at Senate minority leader Mitch McConnell.
“I ask you, Mitch McConnell, I ask all of you senators who refuse to do anything about the violence and school shootings and 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. It’s what we do every week.”
The video was posted on social media by the Warriors, where it quickly racked up more than half a million likes and more than 14 million views.
