Steve Kerr says he would 'absolutely entertain' White House invitation
Steve Kerr has been a vocal critic of Donald Trump, but the Warriors coach is not closing the door on a possible White House visit.
Appearing Wednesday on the "TK Show," hosted by Tim Kawakami, Kerr said that he will leave the decision of joining the President for the traditional ceremony that honors a championship team up to his players.
Kerr, who has openly criticized Trump's travel ban and referred to Trump a "blowhard" and said Trump was "ill-suited for office," thinks a visit could be an olive branch. However, Kerr emphasized the decision in his the hands of the men on his roster:
"The biggest thing for me is it’s about the players. It’s about the team. We have not met about it because we haven’t been invited. But I would want to make sure the players give this really a lot of thought. Everybody knows I’ve been a very outspoken critic of Trump, so as a result maybe we won’t even get the invitation. But I do think it’s very important to consider a potential invitation because I think it could have very positive ramifications if we did go. It’s a different way to look at it. I, like many of our players, are very offended by some of Trump’s words and actions. On the other hand, I think there’s something to respecting the office, respecting our institutions our government. It think it could make a statement at a time when there’s so much divide and everybody seems to be angry with each other. It might be a good statement for us to go and show, 'Hey, let’s put this aside, put all this partisan stuff aside and personal stuff aside, respect the institution and maybe, if you know, one of you players wants to voice your concerns over what’s happening, what better opportunity to do so.' Now that may be incredibly idealistic, but I would want to at least bring that up with our players as an option rather than just coming out and saying no way I’m not going."
When asked by Kawakami if he'd hand Trump a Warriors jersey, Kerr laughed and then said, "I would want to have that discussion with our players. And again, it his may not even be a point because of how vocal we’ve all been in our opposition to Trump’s actions and some of his words, so we may not get the invitation, but it’s something I would absolutely entertain. Like I said, I think it’s important to respect the institution, and it’s important to think about ways we can connect people, and maybe that’s a symbolic gesture of some sort, I don’t know but it’s worth a discussion for sure."
You can listen to Kerr's full interview below. The discussion about Golden State making a trip to Washington begins at the 31:55 mark.
