Steve Kerr has been called a ‘hapless rube’ and an ‘idiot’ by a former minority shareholder of the Warriors after the Golden State head coach labeled President Donald Trump a ‘bully.’
The Trump administration has frozen $2.2billion in federal funds from Harvard University after the renowned school refused to comply with a list of demands, including the discontinuation of DEI and the reformation of programs with ‘egregious’ records of antisemitism, as described in a letter to the school.
Following that development, Kerr – a noted liberal who supported Kamala Harris in the last presidential election – wore a Harvard t-shirt and took aim at Trump for his administration’s treatment of the school.
‘They should not be shaken down and told what to teach, what to say by our government,’ he said. ‘Way to go, way to stand up to the bully.’
Those remarks earned a strong rebuke from venture capitalist Chamath Palihapitiya, who bought a 10 percent stake in the team in 2010 before ultimately selling off his ownership last year.
‘Normally, when an executive at a company where I own equity speaks on topics beyond their knowledge and reveals themselves to be an idiot I usually just fire them or sell my equity,’ he wrote on X.
Warriors coach Steve Kerr infuriated Donald Trump supporters by publicly supporting Harvard
Trump has launched a widely condemned crackdown against top American universities
Chamath Palihapitiya, a former stakeholder in the Warriors, called Kerr a ‘hapless rube’
‘Fortunately, I already sold all my equity in the Warriors last year at the-then all time high so this isn’t my problem but the total ignorance of his comments still stands.’
Palihapitiya accused Kerr of ‘blindly defending’ Harvard, which he called ‘a Corporation with a $53B balance sheet masquerading as a non profit’ and said the school had ‘the absolute worst scores for freedom of speech amongst ALL colleges in America.’
The Sri-Lankan born investor also said Harvard had been ‘admonished’ by the Supreme Court for discrimination in their admissions process, and accused the school of allowing antisemitism to ‘fester unchecked on campus.’
Palihapitiya also blasted Kerr’s basketball acumen, saying owner Joe Lacob, Stephen Curry, Kevin Durant, Draymond Green and Klay Thompson deserve all of the credit for the team’s four titles under Kerr.
‘my 4 [year old] could have won as many championships with the talent Joe assembled,’ Palihapitiya said.
Harvard came under immense scrutiny over campus antisemitism in response to Israel’s war against Hamas, forcing then-President Claudine Gay to resign amid mounting pressure from forces outside the university.
The Trump administration has been campaigning to eradicate antisemitism from college campuses, and got Columbia University to agree to several policy changes with the school fearing it could lose $400million in funding.
However, Harvard President Alan Garber rejected the White House’s demands with a blistering letter and Kerr used his post-game availability following his team’s play-in tournament win over the Grizzlies to speak out against the Trump administration.
Kerr has been routinely outspoken on progressive issues and endorsed Kamala Harris
Trump has also called Harvard a ‘joke’ and said it should lose government research contracts
‘I believe in academic freedom,’ he said. ‘I believe it’s crucial for all of our institutions to be able to handle their own business the way they want to, and they should not be shaken down and told what to teach, what to say, by our government.
‘That’s the dumbest thing I’ve ever heard, but it’s kind of par for the course right now. This is me supporting Harvard.’
Kerr noted that the shirt was sent to him by his friend, Harvard basketball coach Tommy Amaker.
Kerr is the son of late professor and political scientist Malcolm Kerr, and he has frequently been outspoken on progressive issues.
In addition to the federal funding freeze on Harvard, the Department of Homeland Security also canceled $2.7million worth of research grants to the school and threatened the university’s ability to enroll international students unless it turns over records on visa-holders’ ‘illegal and violent activities.’
The Warriors face the Rockets in the first round of the playoffs on Sunday.
