Trump shooting opens wounds for U.S. Olympics coach whose father was assassinated

Team USA men’s basketball coach Steve Kerr, who also is head coach of the Golden State Warriors and a former NBA star, has lived the horrors of assassination.

Kerr’s father, Malcolm, was assassinated in 1984 in Beirut, Lebanon. He was targeted by the Islamic Jihad terrorists because he served as the president of the American University of Beirut.

Kerr, who is in Abu Dhabi of the United Arab Emirates with Team USA, commented on the attempted assassination of former president Donald Trump on Sunday morning. Kerr, getting the team ready for the Summer Olympics in Paris, has spoken often about U.S. gun violence and political division.

“It’s such a demoralizing day for our country, and it’s yet another example of not only our political division but also gun culture,” Kerr said. “A 20-year-old with an AR-15 trying to shoot the former president. It’s hard to process everything, and it’s scary to think about where this goes because of the issues that already exist in the country. So this is a terrible day.”

He added: “This is a time where we feel very proud to represent our country wearing USA on our chest, competing in the Olympics. We’ve talked to the players about how important it is to show the best version of us as human beings to represent our country in a respectful, dignified manner. It makes you want to do that even more so, because this is really shameful for us to sit here and think about what happened and what’s going on in our country.”

In the past, Kerr called American political leaders “gutless” for not passing gun legislation.

Players and coaches learned of the news Sunday morning, according to ESPN.

“It’s obviously a very sad time in general,” Team USA guard Stephen Curry said. “All the conversations around the election and the state of politics in our country, and then you have a situation like this, which just [evokes] a lot of emotions around things that we need to correct as a people.

“Obviously, gun control first and foremost, because the fact that that’s even possible for somebody to have an attack like that. But just more so you want to [see] positivity and hope. It sounds cheesy, but it’s real. That’s when our country’s at its best, and it just adds another blemish to what’s going on. So ‘sad’ is just the word.”

MORE COVERAGE:

See the chilling photo that captures bullet as it flies past Trump

Trump assassination attempt: Latest on shooter, Secret Service’s failure, Biden-Trump chat and more

Officials say man who opened fire at Trump rally was a 20-year-old from Pennsylvania

Trump rally eyewitness’ incredible story: We warned Secret Service and police about shooter on roof

Trump statement after apparent assassination attempt: ‘Felt the bullet ripping through the skin’

Shooting at Trump rally is being investigated as assassination attempt, AP sources say

Trump supporters, led by Clay Travis and J.D. Vance, point fingers at ‘left wing media’ and ‘Biden campaign’

Shooting at Trump rally: Reaction after apparent assassination attempt from Biden, Obama, Clinton, Cheney, more

The AP contributed to this report. Thank you for relying on us to provide the journalism you can trust. Please consider supporting us with a subscription.