NBA three-time coach Steve Kerr has criticized Republican senators, including Mitch McConnell, for refusing to pass gun control legislation after at least 18 students and three adults were killed in a shooting at a Texas school this morning (AEST).
The visibly excited Golden State Warriors coach, speaking before his team’s Western Conference Finals game against the Dallas Mavericks, said he was tired of offering condolences to the “devastated families” and the moments of silence.
He urged Republican senators to stop blocking legislation that would require background checks for people who want to buy weapons.
“In the last 10 days we’ve murdered black seniors in a supermarket in Buffalo and murdered in the Asian church in Southern California, and now we have murdered children at school. When are we going to do something?” he demanded.
“We are going to play a basketball game and 50 senators in Washington will take us hostage.
“I ask you, Mitch McConnell … are you going to put your own desire for power ahead of the lives of our children, our elders, and our faithful? Because that’s what it looks like.” McConnell leads the Republicans in the Senate.
Golden State Warriors basketball coach Steve Kerr speaks to the media. Credit: San Francisco Chronicle
Kerr, whose father was killed in gun violence in 1984, said most Americans supported stricter gun legislation, but Republican senators refused to vote on a bipartisan bill. which required a universal background check that was approved by the U.S. House of Representatives in March.
“You realize that 90 percent of Americans, regardless of political party, want background checks … They’re not going to vote because they want to keep their own power. It’s pathetic. I’ve had enough,” he said. Kerr excitedly before leaving the press conference.