Chris Finch, Steve Kerr and Steph Curry address unrest in Minnesota in wake of shooting – The Athletic
MINNEAPOLIS — His voice wavering and his eyes welling with tears, Minnesota Timberwolves head coach Chris Finch tried to find the words to describe how his team is processing the images of federal agents shooting and killing Alex Pretti on the streets of South Minneapolis, the second deadly interaction in the city between agents and residents this month.
“For the second time in less than three weeks, we’ve lost another beloved member of our community in the most unimaginable way,” Finch said before the Timberwolves hosted the Golden State Warriors on Sunday. “As an organization, we are heartbroken for what we are having to witness and endure and watch. We just want to extend our thoughts, prayers and concern for Mr. Pretti, family, all the loved ones and everyone involved in such an unconscionable situation in a community that we really love, full of people who are, by nature, peaceful and prideful. We just stand in support of our great community here.”
The Timberwolves and Warriors were originally scheduled to play a nationally televised game on Saturday afternoon, but the league postponed it after federal agents shot and killed Pretti that morning. Finch said that conversations he had with players and members of the organization made it clear to him that the best thing to do was to push the game back a day. The Warriors were already scheduled to be in town because the two teams will play again on Monday night.
“Playing basketball just didn’t feel like the right thing to do,” Finch said. “Hopefully we can play today, move forward. We feel like we’ve got a lot of work to do.”
Warriors coach Steve Kerr said he spoke directly with Finch and with Wolves veteran Joe Ingles, who relayed to Kerr that the team was shaken and preferred not to play on Saturday.
“I totally agree with the decision,” Kerr said. “Everything should be about the safety and concern for not only the players and the fans, but everybody here in Minneapolis with what’s going on.”
Even before the shooting of Pretti, a massive protest was held on Friday to speak out against the federal government’s immigration enforcement surge in Minnesota. Renee Good was shot and killed on Jan. 7, and residents, government officials and local law enforcement have said that the federal agents have been violating their rights during this sweep of the metro area.
Vice President JD Vance visited the Twin Cities on Thursday and said there would not be as much unrest if local government officials cooperated with ICE agents.
“People are so angry. There should be an appeal to our better angels to look after one another, and to recognize what’s happening,” Kerr said. “We’re being divided by media for profit, by misinformation. There’s so much out there that is really difficult for all of us to sort of reconcile. And so, in times like these you have to lean on values and who you are and who you want to be.”
Finch has coached the Timberwolves for 5 1/2 seasons. His connection to the city was underscored by the emotion in his voice.
“I’m more than a resident. This is my home,” Finch said. “I love living here. I love being a part of this community. I’ve been embraced from Day 1. People have been amazing. It’s sad to watch what is happening. On the human level, certainly as somebody who takes great pride in being here, I know a lot of our players feel the same. They all love being here, and it’s just hard to watch what we’re going through.”
Finch and Kerr said they had discussions with their players on Saturday about the situation. When the Warriors arrived on Friday, they could see tens of thousands of protestors outside of their hotel windows as they walked the streets in subzero temperatures.
A frequent critic of President Trump and his administration, Kerr said his concerns transcended even this specific incident.
Warriors coach Steve Kerr said Sunday, “I would appeal to everyone is to remember what our constitution stands for, what our values are, and what that means to how we treat each other and our fellow citizens.”
“My concern as an American — we’re not perfect,” he said. “We never have been perfect. I think our ideals have been in the right place for a long time, our values. I think no matter what side of the aisle you stand on, I think remembering the values that come with the constitution, that come with citizenship, the values of looking after each other are so important right now. Just because of the extremism that we can feel from all over the place.”
He continued: “People arguing over the exact same video. And saying ‘This happened,’ … ‘No, that happened,’” Kerr said. “It is a confusing time to be alive and to be an American. So, what I would appeal to everyone is to remember what our constitution stands for, what our values are, and what that means to how we treat each other and our fellow citizens.”
Both coaches said they believe the teams and players can be a beacon for people as they navigate such a traumatic time.
Less than two hours before tipoff on Sunday, thousands of protestors marched down First Avenue, directly in front of Target Center, carrying signs and shouting “ICE OUT! ICE OUT!”
Later, at the end of a moment of silence for Pretti right before the game, a person yelled “F— ICE!,” and a smattering of other voices soon joined in.
During the game, some members of a trampoline dunk team wore shirts that said “ICE OUT” in capital block letters.
“We all just want to play basketball. We want to coach basketball. We want to do basketball things,” Finch said earlier in the day. “When we’re thrust into situations where leadership is called on because we are forward-facing members of the community, I think it’s our duty to be able to provide, whether it might be calming words or leadership in whatever small ways we can, I think our guys have always had the platform and the ability.”
Kerr deferred as much as he could to the Timberwolves, but said he could feel the tension and the misery in a stop on the NBA calendar that he said he always has enjoyed in the past.
“I feel for the city. There’s a pall that’s been cast over the city. You can feel it,” Kerr said. “A lot of people are suffering, obviously a loss of life is the number one concern. Those families will never get their family members back. When all the unrest settles down, whenever that is, those family members won’t be returning home and that’s devastating.”
After the Warriors’ 111-85 win over the Timberwolves on Sunday, Kerr admitted that he felt badly for the Timberwolves and what they were going through.
“Honestly, what I felt was that their group was suffering,” Kerr said. “I thought the vibe in the stands, it was one of the most bizarre, sad games I’ve ever been a part of. You could feel in the somber atmosphere, their team — we could tell they were struggling with everything that’s been going on and what the city has been through. It was very sad. It was a sad night. We got the win, and we’re happy about that, but very difficult to see so many people struggling and sad. They came to the game to try to forget about stuff, I guess, but I don’t think anything went away for the city and for their team. I think they were suffering from the effects of everything.”
Kerr said he felt the “perspective” of the night and how the events of the past few days were weighing on everybody.
“A night like tonight, you feel the perspective of everything,” he said. “And the relative insignificance of a game with an atmosphere like that, knowing everything that’s happened. Knowing where our country is right now. It was a very, very bizarre evening, I thought.”
Warriors star guard Stephen Curry agreed with Kerr’s assessment of the mood of the night.
“It was definitely that,” Curry said of the somber atmosphere. “I know there’s a lot of heavy hearts. “A lot of things — especially (for) this Minneapolis community (Saturday) was rough. It’s been rough, I know out here. You can kind of feel it when we got here two days ago. The protests that were going on downtown, it was amazing to watch the turnout, and peaceful protests, the unified voice that was here. You feel like that would kind of turn the tide to a more positive direction, and then, you wake up in the morning and you see what happened. So, obviously, there was no need and no place to have a game (Saturday). And it spilled it over a little bit to the atmosphere today, as it should.”
“There’s a lot of change that needs to happen and when you’re here, you feel it. I was glued to the TV (Saturday) when we weren’t playing just watching the coverage and understanding what was going on and try to really get knowledgeable about it. Hopefully, the community kind of comes together and the right decisions are made so that there’s more of a peaceful environment here.”
Curry said he took videos on his phone of the protests he could see from his hotel room.
“It was like three straight hours,” Curry said. “In negative 10-degree weather. It was beautiful to see that turnout. That speaks to how important people felt to have their voice heard. In those elements and whatever streets outside our hotel, they were out, and it was amazing to watch.”
