“If there’s somebody who deserves to celebrate the gold medal the least, it would be Steve Kerr. What he did to Jayson Tatum was unconscionable”. Stephen A. Smith said following Tatum’s limited time for Team USA at the 2024 Paris Olympics. However, Smith wasn’t the only one to criticize Kerr, a lot of analysts and fans agreed with Smith. However, given his long time in the NBA as a player and coach, Kerr is likely used to severe criticism. He has even developed a mechanism to deal with this.

Following the Warriors’ fourth consecutive preseason win, Steve Kerr was asked a question regarding fan culture, and whether that has changed. Kerr said that he never had anybody come up to him and say anything negative. Or, at least to his face. He revealed that he never had to be scared of criticism when confronted with Bay Area Fans, but just the remarks that others would share on social media.

“As long as I don’t read the online stuff, I’m fine,” Kerr said. “But that’s kind of how life … life works, you know. There’s … but being in this seat, there’s, you know, that’s part of the deal. You’re going to get criticized.

Steve Kerr emphasized that criticism is part of the job, something he frequently tells his players. “You’re going to get criticized,” he noted, adding that “in general, people are very kind in public”. However, he advised: “just don’t read your phone”.

Steve Kerr has faced his fair share of public criticism, from Donald Trump calling him “a scared little boy” in 2019 on X (formerly Twitter) to his former teammate Dennis Rodman bluntly stating, “Kerr ain’t coaching s–t”. Despite this, the 59-year-old has navigated these remarks, often from afar.

While instances like these would happen at intervals and wouldn’t last long, the Jayson Tatum issue is not set to die down anytime soon. After all, upon winning the most prestigious NBA accolade, one wouldn’t expect to be benched for two of the six Olympic games. However, Tatum got only 71 minutes while LeBron James and Stephen Curry accumulated 147 and 140 minutes respectively. As a result, Kerr knew that he would face a torrent of backlash.

“I think they’re going to be all over me,” Kerr said about Boston Celtics fans. However, he did so with a laugh, and added: “That’s fine.”

However, while he tends to stay quiet on personal criticism, it’s a different story when one of his players is targeted—he becomes as passionate and vocal as he can be in their defense.

“Disgusting” – Steve Kerr defends Stephen Curry following Stephen A. Smith’s leadership criticism

The 2023-24 season was tough for the Warriors, as they not only missed the Playoffs but their 46-36 record wasn’t even enough for a Play-In spot. The franchise’s struggles were apparent much earlier, with criticism mounting as early as December 2023 due to their underwhelming performance. Draymond Green punching Jusuf Nurkic didn’t make things any better.

Instead of putting the entire blame on the power forward, however, Stephen A. Smith questioned Stephen Curry. “Where’s the leadership? Where’s he at? What kind of impact is he having?,” Smith asked.  He even suggested that LeBron James wouldn’t have allowed such a situation to unfold if Green had been his teammate. Upon hearing these remarks, Steve Kerr didn’t remain silent.

During a December 2023 press conference following the Warriors’ 121–113 loss to the Clippers, head coach Steve Kerr didn’t mention ESPN’s Stephen A. Smith by name, but it was clear who he was addressing. Kerr passionately defended his star player, saying, “For anybody to question Steph Curry’s leadership, it’s actually kind of sickening to me. And I saw some of that yesterday. It was disgusting. Talking about one of the finest human beings I have ever been around.”

Having displayed such a level of loyalty, perhaps it would not be wrong to assume that Kerr can find an ally in Stephen Curry once the criticism from Celtics fans descends upon him, right?

What do you think? Let us know in the comments.

Before you go, remember to check out this crossover between BG12 and Georgia Bulldogs star Silas Demary Jr.