USA Basketball coach Kerr condemns ‘demoralizing’ Trump rally shooting

The apparent assassination attempt on Donald Trump disturbed USA Basketball and Warriors coach Steve Kerr, who on Sunday described the shooting as “so demoralizing in every which way.”

Trump, whose ear was bloodied before he was rushed off the stage at his rally in Butler, Pennsylvania, wrote online that a gunshot “pierced the upper part of my right ear.”

The shooting is being investigated as an attempted assassination against the former president, according to authorities. The suspect, identified as 20-year-old Thomas Matthew Crooks, was killed by the Secret Service, according to the federal agency.

“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, according to ESPN.

“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.

“Thank God Trump wasn’t hit, but it’s just so demoralizing in every which way.”

Trump, the presumptive Republican nominee in the 2024 election, said Sunday he is “fine” after the shooting, which the Secret Service said was carried out from an elevated position outside of the rally venue. An unidentified person died, while two others were critically hurt, according to officials.

Team USA is currently in Abu Dhabi, where it is getting ready for the Paris Olympics that begin later this month.

“This is a time where we feel very proud to represent our country wearing USA on our chest, competing in the Olympics,” said Kerr, whose father, Malcolm Kerr, was fatally shot in 1984 in Lebanon, where he was the president of the American University of Beirut.

“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.”

An AR-style rifle was recovered from the scene of Saturday’s shooting, sources told The Associated Press.

“It’s obviously a very sad time in general,” Steph Curry, who is set to make his Olympic debut with Team USA this summer, said Sunday, according to ESPN. “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.”

Originally Published: July 14, 2024 at 8:44 a.m.