S Steve Kerr has had a long career in professional basketball, with 14 years as a player and 12 years as a coach, having been part of thousands of games. Yet a game like the one last weekend in Minneapolis, he has never experienced.
The opponent of his Golden State Warriors, the Minnesota Timberwolves, played under the impression of all that was happening in their city, as if paralyzed. The Warriors could not really enjoy their victory for that reason. The crowd was unusually quiet; there was a heaviness in the arena, broken only by a few scattered “Fuck ICE” shouts. “People came here to distract themselves,” Kerr said, “that has probably not gone very well.”
Kerr himself, who has never held back politically, did not mince words this time either. He bluntly called the death of Renée Good murder. Immigration, he said, is indeed a problem in the United States, but it must not be solved on the streets with violence. That Alex Pretti and Renée Good will not come home to their families again when this is over, he said, is heartbreaking.
Kerr was not the only representative of professional sports to speak out about the violence in Minnesota. His colleague Chris Finch, coach of the Timberwolves, spoke before the game to Pretti’s relatives, expressing his condolences and describing the situation in Minneapolis as monstrous. His team stood in solidarity with the people of the city, a stance which the players underscored during warmups with T-shirts bearing the inscription “We Stand with Minnesota.”
America, wake up!
The French-born superstar Victor Wembanyama of the San Antonio Spurs, meanwhile, before his game against Orlando, said what he saw in the news was “completely unacceptable.” It had also prompted him to deep reflections about his own life. What he truly thinks, he adds, he cannot say; the personal cost is too great.
Other athletes were less afraid of the consequences. For instance, the Minnesota Lynx assistant coach, after the death of Alex Pretti, said: “What is your excuse now, America? That was not some crazy left-wing lesbian, but just a man who carried a gun and protected women. What are we doing here? America must wake up! We cannot allow evil to prevail.”
The Minneapolis basketball teams put their words into action. A joint foundation of the Timberwolves and the Lynx donated $200,000 to local organizations that support immigrants. Paige Bueckers, who plays in Dallas but grew up in Minneapolis, added another $50,000 from her own pocket.
Sports columnist Dave Zirin, who specializes in the intersection of sport and politics, described all of these things as hopeful. 2025 had been the worst year for sports activism. After the Black Lives Matter era, US pros had fallen silent again. “Sports looked like yet another industry bowing to an authoritarian regime.” Now that the Trump administration shows its ugliest face, it seems to be waking up.
Even the football, which will celebrate its biggest party with the Super Bowl this coming weekend, remains quiet. The reason was stated in an Instagram post by New Jersey Representative George Cook: “Colin Kaepernick, Colin Kaepernick, Colin Kaepernick.” Kaepernick, who had sparked players’ protests on the field, has never again found employment in football.
To keep football quiet as well, Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem has already announced a strong ICE presence at the Super Bowl. When asked what the immigration police would be doing there, she simply replied: “If you are a good, proud American, you have nothing to fear.” Regarding the NFL’s decision to bring the Trump-critical pop star Bad Bunny on stage at halftime, she said only: “They’re shit. And we will win.”
