DALLAS — Golden State Warriors coach Steve Kerr didn’t want to talk about basketball in his pregame news conference heading into Game 4 of the Western Conference finals against the Dallas Mavericks on Tuesday night.
Basketball, he said, didn’t matter.
“Since we left shootaround, 14 children were killed, 400 miles from here. And a teacher,” Kerr said, referring to the mass shooting that occurred at Robb Elementary School in Uvalde, Texas, earlier Tuesday.
Since Kerr spoke, the death toll has risen to at least 18 children and two adults, ABC News reported, citing the Texas Department of Public Safety. The 18-year-old suspect, a student at Uvalde High School who entered the school with a handgun and possibly a rifle, is also dead, Gov. Greg Abbott said.
It was not immediately clear how many people were wounded, but the school district’s police chief, Pete Arredondo, said there were “several injuries.”
“When are we going to do something,” Kerr yelled, slamming his fists on the table. “I’m tired. I am so tired of getting up here and offering condolences to the devastated families that are out there. I am so tired of the, excuse, I am sorry, I am tired of the moments of silence. Enough!”
Kerr has long been outspoken against gun violence. His father was shot dead in a terrorist attack in Beirut in 1984 and he has spent much of his professional life calling for gun law reform.
On numerous occasions, including Tuesday, Kerr has pointed to H.R.8, a bill that would tighten background check rules for firearm purchases. That bill passed in the U.S. House of Representatives in early 2021, but never got to the Senate floor.
“There’s a reason why they won’t vote on it. To hold on to power,” Kerr said.
As he looked into the camera, he continued, “So I ask you: [Senate Minority Leader] 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.”
Kerr knows there is a basketball game to be played on Tuesday — and a big one at that, with the Warriors having an opportunity to close out their series against the Mavericks and advance to the NBA Finals.
But he urged anyone watching to keep their mind on the victims. Mavericks coach Jason Kidd shared a similar sentiment.
“We will truly play with heavy hearts tonight for the community, for the school of Robb Elementary School,” Kidd said. “As coaches, as fathers, we have kids, people in this room have kids, elementary school, you can just think about what could take place with any of your family or friends at a school. This is on-the-run job training and we are going to try to play the game. We have no choice.
“The game is not going to be canceled. But we have to find a way to be pro and find a way to win and move forward. But the news of what is happening, not just here in Texas, but throughout our country is sad.”
Robb Elementary School, located about 85 miles west of San Antonio, has an enrollment of just under 600 students, and Arredondo said it serves students in the second, third and fourth grade. This was the school’s last week of classes before summer break.
“Uvalde, There are no right words. Our hearts are with you and all of our neighbors impacted by today’s horrific shooting,” the San Antonio Spurs wrote in a statement posted to Twitter.
“Tonight we play for Uvalde, Texas,” the WNBA’s Dallas Wings said in a statement, while the NFL’s Houston Texans said they would hold the victims, their families and the entire Uvalde community “close to our hearts today and in the weeks to come.”
It was the deadliest shooting at a U.S. grade school since a gunmen killed 20 children and six adults at Sandy Hook Elementary School in Newtown, Connecticut, almost a decade ago. And it came just 10 days after a gunman in body armor killed 10 Black shoppers and workers at a supermarket in Buffalo, New York, in what authorities say was a racist attack. Just two days after the Buffalo mass shooting, one person was killed and five others were wounded in a shooting at a Taiwanese church in Laguna Woods, California, that was described by the Orange County sheriff as a “politically motivated hate incident.”
“I’m fed up. I’ve had enough” Kerr said. “We can’t get numb to this. We can’t sit here and just read about it and go, well let’s go have a moment of silence.”
Kerr slammed the table one more time before his final statement.
“It’s pathetic. I’ve had enough.”
Information from The Associated Press was included in this report.