Golden State Warriors coach Steve Kerr didn’t wear the team’s traditional royal blue and golden yellow to his postgame press conference Tuesday, choosing instead to go all in on crimson.
“This is me supporting Harvard,” Kerr, wearing a Harvard basketball shirt, told reporters a day after the prestigious university refused to concede to a long list of Trump administration edicts.
President Donald Trump has threatened to withhold $9 billion in federal grants if the institution doesn’t fall in line with the administration’s demands, which include cutting all diversity, equity and inclusion programs, banning certain student groups, requiring “viewpoint diversity” in all programs, and limiting admissions of foreign students.
“I believe in academic freedom,” Kerr explained. “I think 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, so: Yes, this is me supporting Harvard. Way to go, way to stand up to the bully,” he added.
Kerr knows a thing or two about standing up for academic freedom. His father, Malcom Kerr, was assassinated in 1984 while serving as president of the American University of Beirut.
Watch the moment on Bluesky below: