Golden State Warriors head coach Steve Kerr issued an apology after comments he made about U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) during a recent team trip to Minneapolis.
The incident stemmed from Kerr’s response to the sustained unrest in Minneapolis, which first erupted on January 7 following the death of Renee Good — who was shot while attempting to run over a U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) agent. Violence escalated further on January 24, when Minneapolis president Alex Pretti was shot while attacking and attempting to draw a handgun on federal agents.
A scheduled game between the Minnesota Timberwolves and Kerr’s Warriors was postponed as a result of the latter incident and subsequent unrest.
The Timberwolves organization honored Pretti with a moment of silence before their game, which Kerr commented on in a post-game press conference when the contest was made up on January 26. “It’s not like they’re rooting out violent criminals. They’re taking 5-year-old kindergartners and U.S. citizens and detaining people,” Kerr told reporters.
This comment was part of a larger discussion where Kerr highlighted what he perceived as issues in how enforcement was being conducted, including the government’s handling of the Pretti incident. He also noted the emotional impact of the events, describing them as “shameful” while insinuating that agents had intentionally killed Pretti.
Kerr’s words quickly circulated in media reports and on social platforms, prompting questions about the accuracy of his portrayal of ICE’s activities. ICE has indeed conducted operations targeting individuals with criminal records, including arrests of those involved in serious offenses.
Figures from the Deportation Data Project recently found that at least a third of individuals currently being held in ICE custody have criminal records behind entering the country illegally.
Kerr was asked about his prior comments ahead of a home game on Friday, at which point he clarified his statement and apologized for spreading misinformation. “You’re right, I definitely misspoke, and I knew that ICE was arresting some criminals. I immediately regretted it because I knew that to be the case,” he said.
“My point is that they’re also arresting people and detaining citizens and people who should not be being detained. The manner in which they’re doing it, as you see, is riling everybody up all over the country. Being in Minneapolis for those four days was incredibly emotional and powerful. It was a very difficult time for all of us. At the end of those four days, it was a pretty emotional time. I misspoke, and I apologize for the misinformation. I hope everybody else out there who’s saying stuff that’s not true, please apologize, too. All right, let’s talk about basketball.”
