Golden State Warriors Coach Steve Kerr Is Now An Oscar Winner
For a coach who has spent years making school shootings and gun politics part of his public identity, ending up attached to a documentary like this feels less surprising than the Oscar itself.
Steve Kerr can add another line to his already crowded resume, because the Warriors coach is now, somehow, an Oscar winner too.
About a year ago, the Golden State Warriors coach signed on as an executive producer for a project titled All the Empty Rooms.
Given Kerr’s long history of using public tragedy to advocate for tighter gun laws, this was never exactly an out-of-nowhere project for him.
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On Sunday night, while the Warriors were busy with basketball, Kerr’s latest off-court cause won the Oscar for documentary short. The 35-minute film tells the stories of families who preserved the bedrooms of children killed in mass shootings.
As ESPN reported, Kerr was not at the Dolby Theatre but learned of the win through his family’s group text because Golden State had a game that night.
MINNEAPOLIS, MINNESOTA - JANUARY 25: Head Coach Steve Kerr of the Golden State Warriors talks to the media during a press conference after the game against the Minnesota Timberwolves at Target Center on January 25, 2026 in Minneapolis, Minnesota. (Photo by David Berding/Getty Images)
"I didn’t have anything to do with the making of the film," Kerr said Monday. "But I am very proud to be associated with it."
Kerr also made clear he did not need much convincing to get involved.
"They called me about a year ago and asked if I would like to be an executive producer, which meant basically put my name on it and help promote it," Kerr said.
"It was a no-brainer, just given my passion for the issue. And then after watching the film, I was just blown away by how beautiful it was and poignant it was. It was an easy decision."
That part, at least, makes sense. For a coach who has spent years making school shootings and gun politics part of his public identity, ending up attached to a documentary like this feels less surprising than the Oscar itself.
Kerr, whose father was assassinated in 1984, has long been one of sports’ most outspoken advocates for tighter gun laws. In a recent Los Angeles Times op-ed, Kerr explained what drew him to the documentary.
HOLLYWOOD, CALIFORNIA - MARCH 15: (L-R) Gloria Cazares, Joshua Seftel, Steve Hartman, and Conall Jones accept the Documentary Short Film award for "All the Empty Rooms" onstage during the 98th Oscars at Dolby Theatre on March 15, 2026 in Hollywood, California. (Photo by Kevin Winter/Getty Images)
"What mattered to me right away was how the film listens to families," Kerr wrote. "It gives them room to speak about their children without exploiting their stories into politics or spectacle. There’s a dignity in that choice, which is difficult to find in the way our country usually talks about gun violence."
The Oscar puts Kerr in a small NBA-Hollywood club.
Late basketball icon Kobe Bryant won an Oscar in 2018 for Dear Basketball, and Stephen Curry was also an executive producer on The Queen of Basketball, which won the Oscar for short-subject documentary in 2022.
Still, Kerr does not sound ready to trade the sideline for a soundstage.
"I’m very passionate about the cause," Kerr added, "but I don’t think this is going to turn me into a filmmaker."
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