U.S Presidential Donald Trump increasing social discomfort in a rapidly changing world.
Some tech leaders were also unsettled by Trump's orders, which suspended the country's refugee program and temporarily banned visas for citizens of Iraq, Syria, Iran, Sudan, Libya, Somalia, and Yemen. Critics have pointed out the conspicuous absence of Saudi Arabia, and other predominantly Muslim countries that have been tied to the Sept. 11 attacks on the U.S. but that also have strong business ties with this country.
Players, coaches, and executives around the NBA have spoken out against President Trump’s ban on refugees and citizens from seven Muslim-majority countries since the executive order was passed on Saturday.
Specifically, four NBA head coaches have sharply criticized the ban, including Warriors head coach Steve Kerr. Notably, Kerr’s father was killed in an act of terror when Kerr was a freshman in college.
No NBA player or executive has explicitly come out in support of the ban, to SB Nation’s knowledge. One player asked, Timberwolves forward Gorgui Dieng, who is Muslim, gave a neutral answer about the ban but also said, “I think I’ve got a right to be here.” Senegal, where Dieng was born, was not one of the seven countries listed in the executive order.
Here is a complete list of NBA figures who have shared their opinions on the ban. Their complete thoughts are not included in every instance, but click on their names to see everything they said in full.
Mark Cuban, the billionaire owner of the Dallas Mavericks, continued to push back against President Donald Trump over the weekend on Twitter, this time criticizing Trump's immigration ban on citizens from seven majority-Muslim nations.
Warriors head coach Steve Kerr
“I would just say that as someone whose family member was a victim of terrorism, having lost my father, if we’re trying to combat terrorism by banishing people from coming to this country, (it’s) really going against what the principles of what our country’s about and creating fear. It’s the wrong way to go about it. If anything, we could be breeding anger and terror and so I’m completely against what’s happening.”
Pistons head coach Stan Van Gundy
“We're getting into the days of now we're judging people by their religion, trying to keep Muslims out. … None of those seven nations have been responsible for an American death, but we're barring everybody. It's just playing to people's fears and prejudices and everything else, and we're getting back to the days of putting the Japanese in relocation camps and Hitler registering the Jews. That's where we're headed, and it's just fear-mongering and playing to a certain base of people that have some built-in prejudices that aren't fair.”
Raptors head coach Dwane Casey
“I'm old. It's scary because it kind of reminds you about what happened back in the 60s, when I was growing up. Even though it's different issues, it resembles that in a lot of different ways. A little bit more sophisticated, but it's similar. And it's a slippery slope. For every action, there's a cause and effect and a reaction by other people, so we have to be careful. Again, I'm a U.S. citizen, a proud U.S. citizen, but we have to be careful how we're handling our business in the States.”
