A group of self-proclaimed American patriots are discussing boycotting this summer’s Olympics in Paris because of their dissatisfaction with the composition of the U.S. team. It’s a pointless reaction, but any action born out of spite is pointless.
Kaitlyn Clark, a promising rookie for the WNBA’s Indiana Fever who is white, was not selected to represent the U.S. women’s basketball team, leading some to declare they were withdrawing their support — the latest grenade to be thrown into the firestorm of controversy surrounding Clark.
Don’t believe for a second that race isn’t the cause of this backlash: Clark’s skin color appeals to casual fans who have historically rebelled against the predominantly black WNBA.
Their love of country is conditional, proving once again that sports and politics will always be cousins, whether we like it or not. It’s also an example of how a subjective definition of patriotism can lead to strange distortions of its meaning.
Which brings us to Steve Kerr, the coach of the Golden State Warriors and, for this topic, the coach of the United States men’s basketball team, who is both admired and hated for the very same reasons, mostly political ones.
Carr announced his plans for the 2024 presidential election last week: He will support incumbent 81-year-old Joe Biden rather than Donald Trump, the irrepressible convicted felon who turned 78 on Friday and is seeking a return to the White House.
Kerr’s decision is not surprising, but some may consider boycotting the games because of his political stance, which some Americans said was against the U.S. when he coached the U.S. national team in the FIBA World Cup last summer.
But Carr isn’t giving in. Appearing on MSNBC’s “The 11th Hour with Stephanie Ruhle” on Monday night, he voiced his support for Biden and reiterated his long-standing fight against another political issue that is divisive but logically shouldn’t be.
Gun safety.
“It’s clear that President Biden is very interested in implementing gun safety measures,” Carr said. “Common sense gun violence prevention measures.”
Since his father, Malcolm, was assassinated on the campus of the American University of Beirut in 1984, Carr has spent much of his life campaigning for laws to limit the proliferation of guns.
Carr has advocated for universal background checks and has worked with numerous organizations dedicated to stemming the tide of gun violence, which is the leading cause of non-accidental deaths of teens in the United States, including Sandy Hook Promise, Giffords Law Center and March for Our Lives.
“we [deaths]”President Biden has been adamant that he’s going to push for commonsense legislation that can do that, and I know that President Trump won’t, so for me it’s really a very easy choice,” Carr said.
Carr’s support for Biden and his pursuit of stronger gun control have made him unpopular with conservatives and deeply disliked by those who oppose the United States. Carr is well aware of this, which is why he decided to boycott the event himself.
Once a frequent presence on social media, particularly Twitter (now known as X), Carr has posted just once in the past 38 months and not at all since a November 2021 video in which he mentioned the nonprofit organization, the Innocence Project.
While keyboard gurus abound on social media, urging Kerr to “focus on the sport,” there is nothing to indicate he intends to “shut up and coach.”
Still, Kerr is generally viewed favorably. A recent casino.ca survey of 3,000 NBA fans concluded that Kerr is the league’s most liked head coach. Nearly eight in 10 Warriors fans (78%) consider themselves “very familiar” with Kerr, well above the league average of 51%. What’s more, Kerr’s “likeability” score is 25% higher than average.
Carr, 58, is a vocal critic of injustice, marches for racial and gender equality, and participates in voter registration drives. He currently avoids posting on X, but keeps a “profile picture” that commemorates the late George Floyd. Carr considers himself a patriot who strives to create a civilized and humane America.
Kerr’s critics, primarily those upset that Clark wasn’t selected for the U.S. national team, see him as an extremist who too often strays from the sport’s boundaries.
But naturally, he was asked about Clark being left out of the women’s team on MSNBC.
“It’s a shame she can’t be there,” Carr said, “but I’m sure she has a great chance in four years. When you’re making an Olympic team, all you care about is winning. It’s probably going to take Kaitlyn two or three years to really be at the top of her game.”
“The women’s team has selected 12 players they think can help win the gold medal, and the men’s team did just that. That’s what this sport is about. There are no politics in the Olympics. We just want to win.”
It’s a sensible response, without any ill will, unlike those who don’t want to support all the teams that represent the country they love.
Download and follow the Dubs Talk podcast
