Steve Kerr has never shied from the spotlight when it comes to talking about the elephant in the room. Be it coming in support of the BLM movement or leading the NBA as a fierce gun control advocate, Kerr has earned a refreshing reputation for expressing his political views in press meetings. Looking back at his rawest moments, the Golden State Warriors coach admits some regrets cut deeper than others.

His infamous 2016 Warriors rant the day after Trump’s election was an iconic off-court moment that was unheard of from a coach of his stature. Kerr’s voice has shaped athlete activism like few others, as NBA Commissioner Adam Silver continues to support free speech within the league.

But now, years later, HC Kerr is rethinking that post-election heat, owning up to his words, where passion crossed into personal jabs at a president whose political ideology he just could not come to terms with. In a recent interview with The New Yorker, the 60-year-old was asked about his previous back-and-forth with Donald Trump and if he would do it differently if offered a redo.

“He definitely has taken advantage of that to gain and to consolidate power,” Kerr told reporter Charles Bethea. “He’s using it to drive a wedge between all of us. He’s not the only one who’s done that, but he’s the President. He’s got the most power. But calling the President a buffoon, I kind of regret that, even though I felt it in my heart. It’s better to point out policy decisions, but also American values.”

“He was establishing this new tone of communication that we were going to have in this country. I was so disgusted that I didn’t hold back. I’ve learned that I need to be better in terms of representing our organization in a way that I could still let my feelings be known but not get too personal. I’m representing a large group of people.”

HC Kerr’s words bear weight, considering it wasn’t too long ago that he was at the Democratic National Convention in 2024, rallying overtime for presidential candidate (and Trump’s nemesis) Kamala Harris. He even invoked Stephen Curry’s signature “night night” celebration while taunting Trump before his win.

But all that quickly backfired after the Republican nominee was elected to a second term as President of the United States. Following Trump’s landslide win, Steve Kerr changed his tune.

“I believe in democracy,” he told reporters a day after the results were out.” The American people have spoken and voted for Trump. I want him to do well the next four years, I want our country to do well.” I’m just thankful there wasn’t any voting fraud this time.”

But in his conversation with Bethea, the 9x (including wins as coach) NBA Champion admits it’s not his differences with Trump that led to his earlier outbursts, but rather the direction of American politics that drove him to a breaking point.

“In my life, up until that time, there had been a sense of decorum expected in the Presidential campaigns,” Kerr added. When McCain ran against Obama, there was a town hall, and someone said to McCain, ‘Obama is a terrible man.’ And he said, ‘No, he’s a fine man.’ That was what I grew up with. Reagan and Tip O’Neill got together every week—Democratic Speaker of the House, Republican President—knowing they had to collaborate to get stuff done.”

“There was a sense of decency, that people were watching, that we wanted our politics to embody a certain dignity, regardless of policy, and regardless of even corruption.”

He even went on to absolve the 47th American president, adding, “I don’t think it’s all Trump’s fault. I think it was happening before Trump: the forces in social media, the forces in our country, the division.”

Kerr’s evolution as a coach, but more so a human being, reveals a man wrestling with activism’s limits in a fractured America. Now prioritizing policy over personal shots, Kerr urges dignity amid division as basketball’s most outspoken voice tempers rather than silences.

Steve Kerr recalls NBA-China issue that caught the attention of Trump

In the latter half of the interview, Kerr also touched on how NBA’s massive China business machine ground to a halt over one tweet. Houston Rockets GM Daryl Morey’s “Stand with Hong Kong” post triggered Beijing’s fury as the CBA severed ties with the franchise.

Sponsors bailed, preseason games went dark. Silver and the league faced financial challenges as streaming partner Tencent’s billion-dollar deal was dragged into the scuffle. Kerr, whose outspoken activism did not emerge in this situation, invited Trump’s “scared little boy” taunt that the Dubs coach deemed “surreal” but later owned as a misstep in trying to be in the league’s good books at a time when the numbers started to dwindle.

“I gave a really weak answer. I was trying to walk the line,” Kerr admitted. “We had a lot of players on our team that were doing business in China. A lot of our players would go there off-season. The NBA had this huge relationship with China. But, of course, thousands of American companies had trade and relations with China. And so the NBA just got caught up in all of this, and I didn’t handle it well. I was trying to walk the company line and not make the NBA mad.”

The 2019 NBA-China standoff cost the league hundreds of millions, with China’s estimated market of around 490 million viewers. Silver defended the NBA’s right to free speech and did not issue an apology as the matter became a political ploy. Even Los Angeles Lakers star LeBron James chimed in, calling Morey’s tweet “misinformed”.

Republican politicians like Marco Rubio accused the NBA of hypocrisy on free speech. He’s been a vocal critic of the league’s business ties with China, considering his role in Trump’s inner circle. The NBA mended ties with its Asian business partners quietly by 2020 in the preseason, but Silver stood firm on free speech expression.

The league has avoided getting involved in foreign politics ever since. That remains their policy to this day, in a volatile geopolitical period, where the lines between right and wrong are getting murkier by the day. While Kerr’s time in the Bay is under intense speculation, his mindset and heart remain in the right place. One thing is sure: wherever Steve Kerr goes next, he will always be the voice for good, sometimes even at the cost of his own ambitions.