Steve Kerr: what did NBA Golden State Warriors coach say on Texas school shooting - what happened to his dad?

Golden State Warriors coach Steve Kerr has given an emotive speech on the Texas school shooting during a press conference in Dallas.

Kerr, who lost his own father to gun violence, called on the 50 state senators who have not yet signed the background check bill to do so.

He got emotional at times, covering his watering eyes with his hands.

On 24 May, a lone 18-year-old shooter opened fire at the Robb Elementary School in Uvalde Texas, killing 21 people, including 19 children.

This is the 27th school shooting in America this year and over 200 mass shootings at over venues.

The Buffalo shooting, which killed 10 people, only took place on 15 May.

There have been calls inside America to introduce more thorough background checks, but this is proving challenging due to the powerful gun lobby.

Here is everything you need to know about who Steve Kerr is, what happened to his father and what he said about the shooting.

Who is Steve Kerr?

Kerr is the head coach of the Golden State Warriors basketball team and former professional player.

He is an eight-times National Basketball Association (NBA) champion, having won it five times as a player, whilst at the Chicago Bulls and San Antonio Spurs.

Kerr has been coaching the Golden State Warriors since 2014 and has led the team to win three championships.

His father was an academic who specialised in Middle Eastern studies and Kerr spent most of his childhood growing up in Lebanon, where his father was the president of the American University of Beirut.

What happened to his father?

Kerr’s father, Malcolm Kerr, was shot dead whilst working in Lebanon by Shia Militia.

At the time, he was working as the president for the American University of Beirut.

He was shot twice in the head in the back of his head outside his office and died instantly.

Kerr, was only 18-years-old at the time and was studying at college, when he learnt of his father’s death.

He reflected on the impact of his father’s death in the Chicago Tribune saying: “Before my father was killed, my life was impenetrable. Bad things happened to other people.”

What has he said about the Texas school shooting?

The Golden State Warriors coach took part in a press conference on Tuesday (24 May) evening, before the fourth game of the Western Conference finals in Dallas.

He began his press conference by saying: “I’m not going to talk about basketball … any basketball questions don’t matter.”

Kerr added: “Since we left shootaround, 14 children were killed, 400 miles from here. And a teacher. And in the last 10 days we’ve had elderly Black people killed in a supermarket in Buffalo, we’ve had Asian churchgoers killed in Southern California and now we have children murdered at school.”

The coach looked visibly distressed and pounded his hand on the table.

He shouted: “When are we going to do something?”

He continued: “I’m tired, I’m so tired of getting up here and offering condolences to the devastated families that are out there… I’m so tired of the moments of silence, enough.

“There’s 50 senators right now who refuse to vote on HR8, which is a background check rule which the house passed a couple of years ago. It’s been sitting there for two years, and there’s a reason they won’t vote on it, to hold onto power.”

Kerr then called on the senators directly to sign the bill.

He ended the conference by saying: “They won’t vote on it because they want to hold onto their own power. It’s pathetic and I’ve had enough.”