From 'Murder' To 'Misinformation,' Steve Kerr Changes Tune On ICE, Minnesota

Golden State Warriors head coach Steve Kerr loves to weigh in on pretty much everything except basketball. Give him a microphone, and he will go off about gun control, Donald Trump, policing, immigration, "social justice," or whatever topic is hot in his political lane (read: left-wing).

And lately, Kerr has given us a perfect example of how the narrative gets shaped. Declare the conclusion first, then wrap yourself in "compassion" later. When it is convenient, go right back to the original script.

After the death of Renee Good in an incident involving an ICE agent, Kerr did not hedge. He did not say, "Let’s wait for the facts." He did not say, "We need an investigation."

He said this: "It’s shameful… we can have law enforcement officers who commit murder and seemingly get away with it."

That isn't speculation; it's a verdict. And he wasn't done. Kerr also accused the government of lying.

"It’s shameful that the government can come out and lie about what happened," he said.

The part I can't get past is that the same political crowd Kerr caters to has spent years screaming for due process, especially on immigration enforcement. Due process, due process, due process.

So I will ask the obvious question: Does the ICE agent get due process too? Kerr certainly wasn't yelling about due process when Renee Good died. He wanted to convict the federal agent on the spot. 

Some people watched the video and thought the agent acted impulsively and shouldn't have fired his weapon. Others said she hit him with her car, and he acted in self-defense. I am not here to adjudicate that from the internet. Let the legal process play out.

Kerr skipped all of that.

Steve Kerr Changes Tune 

Not long after, another Minnesota incident dominated the news cycle, and Kerr’s tone shifted dramatically. After a Border Patrol agent shot and killed Alex Pretti during a struggle last week, Kerr didn't jump to conclusions. 

This time it was not "murder" or "the government is lying."

With the Warriors in Minneapolis to play the Timberwolves for a two-game set, Kerr took to the podium with a much different demeanor. He said his role was "to hopefully extend empathy and compassion."

Steve Kerr’s rhetoric on ICE, Border Patrol, immigration reform and Minnesota unrest shifted multiple times over a three-week stretch. 

(Kevin Jairaj/Imagn Images)

Then, he added this: "No matter what side of the aisle you stand on… there should be an appeal to our better angels… We are being divided by media for profit, by misinformation," Kerr said. 

There's nothing wrong with that messaging and I thought, for a brief moment, that Kerr might have realized the mistake he made when he spoke after Good's death. 

Although a real cynic might argue that Kerr wanted to calm the temperature of the city while he was in town and his own safety was potentially at risk, before diving into more politically divisive language on his way out of Minnesota. 

Kerr Gets Back on Script Before Leaving Minnesota 

The problem is Kerr decided not to take his own "be careful about misinformation" advice. After Monday's game in Minnesota, Kerr was back to the same loaded framing, claiming immigration enforcement is basically sweeping up innocents:

"They’re taking five-year-old kindergartners and U.S. citizens and detaining people," he said. 

On Sunday, Kerr warned the public about misinformation. On Monday, he pushed the viral narrative version of events (one that doesn't align with the facts) to a massive audience with a straight face.

He later added that ICE agents are "pulling people from their homes." 

I've got some news for you, Steve Kerr. If you are in the United States illegally, the U.S. is not your "home." Enforcement is meant to return people to their actual home countries, so spare me the "ripping families apart" routine. Illegal immigrants knew that entering the country illegally would come with consequences.

Kerr wasn't done, though. He acknowledged that immigration is an issue, but it's for Congress to fix, not ICE. 

"It needs to be addressed by Congress, legislatively, not by a military force in the streets," Kerr said. 

Did I miss the part where we needed a new law to declare that entering the U.S. illegally is… illegal? I'm not a legal scholar, but I'm fairly certain that law already exists. The problem is that it isn't being followed. 

People are not going to self-deport because Congress sends a strongly worded memo. Removal requires pressure and, yes, force.

"Minnesota Nice" 

During Sunday's press conference, where Kerr adopted a more measured tone, he also decided to take a strange detour and heap effusive praise on the city of Minneapolis and its people. 

"I love the city of Minneapolis. People here are wonderful," Kerr said. "The expression ‘Minnesota nice’ is a real thing; people here really care about each other and take care of their neighbors and go out of their way to help one another. It's a beautiful city." 

Find someone who loves you as much as Steve Kerr loves Minneapolis.

Remember that Minnesota is a far-left state, politically and socially. The Democrat Party controls the offices of governor, secretary of state, and attorney general, as well as the upper chamber of the state legislature. Some of the most radical left-wing politicians in the U.S. (including Gov. Tim Walz, Rep. Ilhan Omar, and Minneapolis Mayor Jacob Frey) reside in the state. 

It's not surprising that Kerr heaped praise on a state and city run by left-wingers. He wants people to believe it's a utopia there and if other states and cities did the same, we'd live in a perfect country. 

Except, Kerr is wrong. There are reports of billions of dollars of fraud in the state of Minnesota. Those neighbors who Kerr said are so willing to help each other are also quite willing to steal from one another. 

And how do you think business owners in Minneapolis felt during the "Summer of Love" in 2020, when businesses were looted and burned as the city became a national symbol of unrest? Was that "Minnesota nice," too?

Protesters in Minnesota burned down buildings and looted businesses during the "Summer of Love" in 2020.

(Zach Boyden-Holmes/The Register via Imagn Content Services, LLC)

Steve Kerr is not dumb. I don't buy the "he is just clueless" excuse. He knows exactly how it works. 

He declares that ICE "murdered" a woman before the legal process played out. Then he lectures the public about "better angels" and "misinformation." 

Next up, he's right back to pushing the narrative and his own misinformation. 

We see the game you're trying to play, Steve Kerr, and we're done playing along.