Kerr admits it was ‘strange' to get called out by Trump

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Steve Kerr has been one of the most outspoken critics of President Donald Trump.

Still, it was a surprise to the Warriors coach when Trump called him out by name in October after Kerr's answer about the controversy regarding the NBA and its partnership with China.

"Yeah, it was really strange," Kerr told Jemele Hill on the "Jemele Hill is Unbothered" podcast. "It was very weird. And I know that you know the feeling cause you were called out by him too. It felt so, kind of slimy, you know, it's like really, like we got -- you don't have anything bigger on the agenda today? You know, but I was also kind of ashamed because his comments came on the heels of the discussion about China after Daryl Morey's comments. And it was probably the one time in my career where I was very unsure about what I should say.

"And I felt, I didn't feel pressured by anybody, but I felt sort of cornered by my own circumstances in terms of how I should respond and my response was terrible. And so in some ways, I deserve the criticism that I got, but not really from the President because, you know, there was especially on the China issue -- because we can go into all kinds of detail about how his relationship with the Chinese government and the trade agreement we could talk about all of that and there's, there's plenty to discuss on that front if he wanted to go in that direction."

Morey's tweet showing support for protestors in Hong Kong back in October caused quite a firestorm in the NBA world. Kerr opted not to comment on the situation in Hong Kong when asked for his response.

“Generally, my feeling is the things that I’m going to comment on are the things that I feel comfortable speaking about, things I feel well versed about. … There are places where I don’t feel as comfortable. This would be one of them," Kerr said at the time.

This made Kerr an ideal target for Trump. Kerr has been outspoken on a number of political issues and has been highly critical of Trump ever since he started to run for president in 2016.

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"I watch this guy Steve Kerr and he was like a little boy. He couldn't answer the question -- he was shaking, 'Oh, oh, oh, I don't know. I don't know,'" Trump said of Kerr back in October. "He didn't know how to answer the question, and yet he'll talk about the United States very badly.

"I watch the way that Kerr and Popovich and some of the others were pandering to China, and yet to our own country, it's like they don't respect it," Trump said. "It's like they don't respect it. I said, 'What a difference -- isn't it sad?' It's very sad. To me, it's very sad."

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Kerr, of course, isn't the first member of the Warriors' organization to draw Trump's wrath. The president has called out star Steph Curry after the two-time NBA MVP said he would vote "no" on if the Warriors should go to the White House after winning the championship.

After Trump's outburst, Kerr responded by giving an eloquent reflection on the state of United States politics and how it's changed over the past 35 years.

"There was (then) no regard for whose side you were on, politically, political party, anything like that. It was just, ‘You are an American.’ The offense held such dignity and respect both from the people who were visiting and especially from the people who sat inside. It’s just sad that it’s come crashing down, and that we’re now living this," Kerr said the day after Trump's criticism of him.

Quite the contrast in personality if there ever was one.

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