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Team USA men’s basketball head coach Steve Kerr addressed the political unrest in the United States ahead of team practice on Sunday. (Photo by Ethan Miller/Getty Images)
In a time of unrest in the United States, Team USA basketball head coach Steve Kerr is calling for unity in the wake of the attempted assassination of former president and presidential candidate Donald Trump.
Kerr, calling it a “terrible” and “demoralizing day” for the U.S., said he is still proud to represent the country in competition.
“This is a time where we feel very proud to represent our country wearing USA on our chest, competing in the Olympics,” Kerr said on Sunday. “We’ve talked to the players about how important it is to show the best version of us as human beings to represent our country in a respectful, dignified manner. It makes you want to do that even more so, because this is really shameful for us to sit here and think about what happened and what’s going on in our country.”
The team, which is currently practicing in Abu Dhabi, United Arab Emirates, ahead of the 2024 Olympics in Paris, woke on Sunday to the news of the assassination attempt, which took place Saturday at a rally near Pittsburgh.
“It’s such a demoralizing day for our country, and it’s yet another example of not only our political division but also gun culture,” Kerr said. “A 20-year-old with an AR-15 trying to shoot the former president. It’s hard to process everything, and it’s scary to think about where this goes because of the issues that already exist in the country. So this is a terrible day.”
Kerr also expressed gratitude that Trump was not hit or seriously hurt by the attempt.
Kerr’s father, Malcolm, was assassinated in Beirut, Lebanon, in 1984 after being targeted by militant group Islamic Jihad. Malcolm Kerr was the president of the American University of Beirut, which resulted in him being a target. As a result, Kerr has long been vocal about gun control.
Team USA star Stephen Curry also spoke on the issue, calling it a “sad time in general.”
“All the conversations around the election and the state of politics in our country, and then you have a situation…
Source link : https://ca.sports.yahoo.com/news/team-usas-steve-kerr-addresses-demoralizing-day-after-donald-trump-assassination-attempt-calls-for-unity-163705935.html
Author : Yahoo Sports
Publish date : 2024-07-14 16:37:05
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