San Jose Mercury: Warriors’ Kerr thanks Obama for work on gun control

Warriors coach Steve Kerr during the team’s White House visit discussed with President Barack Obama not only their beloved 1990s Chicago Bulls championship teams, but also gun control.

“I thanked him for his work on gun control, which is an important political issue for me and my family,” Kerr said Thursday. “We believe very strongly there needs to be greater measures, so how often am I going to get the chance to thank the president for something that he’s working on? He seemed very appreciative.

“It’s an important issue for us. I know it’s a very hot topic. There’s a great divide, but I’m on his side.”

Malcolm Kerr, Kerr’s father, was assassinated in 1984 at age 52 by gunmen in Lebanon, where he served as president of the American University of Beirut.

Obama, who has made curbing gun violence a priority, noted in his remarks in the East Room of the White House that the Warriors “had players take a stand” against it, prompting applause from the crowd.

Stephen Curry and Draymond Green recently spoke out against gun violence. Curry was among the NBA players to appear in an ad that launched in December for gun control group Everytown for Gun Safety and spoke about how he was affected hearing about the shooting of a 3-year-old — the same age as his eldest daughter, Riley.

“You hear the stories of families who have been affected by it, by gun violence,” Curry said before the Warriors’ game against the Washington Wizards on Wednesday.

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