Warriors’ Steve Kerr centers closing message on US presidential election around ‘big lie’

WASHINGTON D.C. — Asked about what it’s like to be in the nation’s capital on the eve of the U.S. presidential election, Warriors head coach Steve Kerr laid out — over nearly three minutes — his concerns of Donald Trump’s repeated election fraud conspiracies he considers “a direct assault on democracy.”

Kerr, who endorsed Vice President Kamala Harris in a Democratic National Convention speech this summer, said he has had conversations with the team about the anxiety surrounding the election. Kerr and the Warriors coaches wore white “VOTE” shirts over the weekend and continued to don them on Monday night at Capital One Arena, where they played the Wizards.

“There’s a reason we’re wearing these shirts, it’s not just an NBA-mandated thing,” Kerr said. “We believe in our democracy, we believe in voting, we want to encourage everybody to get out and vote. And honestly, regardless of who you’re going to vote for: Get out and vote.

“I think the biggest thing that will come out of tomorrow will be election integrity, which has never been a thing in my entire life until Donald Trump decided it was going to be a thing. In order for our democracy to thrive, not only do we as citizens have to take part, but we also have to trust that these elections are not tainted — which they aren’t.”

Trump, the Republican nominee, lost the 2020 election to Joe Biden, but has pushed unfounded claims that the election was rigged or stolen from him. He recently said at a campaign rally that he “shouldn’t have left” the White House. A bipartisan House Select committee investigating the Jan. 6, 2021 attack on the U.S. Capitol concluded Trump’s false allegations of fraud provoked his supporters to storm the capitol.

The Department of Justice indicted Trump with obstruction of an official proceeding, conspiracy to defraud the United States, conspiracy to knowingly make a false statement, and assisting, aiding or comforting an insurrection. The indictment’s allegations were later narrowed following a Supreme Court ruling on immunity for former presidents, but the charges remained.

Trump has also been indicted in Georgia for his role in pressuring state officials and lawmakers to reverse Biden’s win and “find” enough votes to tip the election results his way.

Trump also became the first president in U.S. history to be convicted of felony crimes when a New York jury found him guilty of all 34 charges in a scheme to illegally influence the 2016 election through a hush money payment to adult film actor Stormy Daniels.

Some conservative media outlets lined up behind Trump’s claims. Fox News settled a defamation case against Dominion, a voting machine company, for $787 million.

Trump and his allies have failed to produce evidence of widespread voting irregularities. A Brookings Institute study of Heritage Foundation data found minuscule instances of voter fraud in key states. For example, Arizona has been home to 36 reported cases of voter fraud in its last 36 elections, with more than 42 million ballots cast.

“There’s been all these lies that have been spread over the last eight years about election integrity,” Kerr said. “People have been fooled into thinking there’s irregularities. It’s the most important part of our democracy, is for people to trust the election system. And so, I would urge everybody to vote.

“Pick your reason to vote. I vote on issues like gun violence prevention, which is very important to me, (and) abortion rights for women. Not that it’s any surprise, I’m voting for Harris. But I’m also voting for democracy. I’m voting because I know whichever side wins, I know I’m going to respect the election integrity.”

Trump has spent much of his final week on the campaign trail baselessly trying to discredit the legitimacy of this year’s election. He hasn’t committed to accepting the results of the 2024 election and has claimed that the only way he can lose would be if there is fraud.

An NBC survey of local election officials found that 38% reported experiencing threats, harassment and abuse and 54% are concerned about the safety of their colleagues.

“It’s a direct assault on democracy,” Kerr said. “So get out and vote tomorrow. Pick who you want to vote for. But understand that these elections are legitimate, they’re real. It’s never been an issue, ever, in my lifetime. Not a single instance of anyone even thinking the elections weren’t legitimate. Until a convicted felon who’s running for office again decided to conjure up all this stuff to put fear in the air. Which is a direct threat to our system and our democracy.”

Kerr said he talked about the “angst” around the election with Draymond Green on Monday morning. Neither he nor the team has made specific plans for watching Tuesday’s election.

Polls in swing states have consistently shown both Trump and Harris within the margin of error, signs of what is likely to be a tight race.

“I don’t think anyone knows what’s going to happen,” Kerr said.

Kerr has been among the most outspoken professional sports figures when it comes to politics, particularly about gun control. Monday was the first time Kerr specifically called out Trump’s efforts to discredit fair elections publicly.

When Kerr accepted the Democratic Party’s invitation to speak at the convention in August, shortly after leading Team USA to Olympic gold, he delivered a speech centered around unity and the values leaders should demonstrate.

“The strength of our country is the diversity of our country,” Kerr said on Monday. “The strength of our country is us, our people. We’re all Americans. Whether you’re a Republican or Democrat, rural or urban, we are American. We need to unite, we need to be together. That was my message that night, and that’s what I wanted to get across. I hope that people recognize that.

“I’ve got a lot of friends who live in countries where they don’t have democracy. And they tell me all the time, it is fragile, don’t take it for granted. When you start questioning the validity of elections to try to gain power, you’re dealing with a very fragile governmental system that you’re trying to bring down in the name of power, which is the most anti-democratic thing I can think of.”