Kerr apologizes for viral rant he used to rebuke referees after Warriors’ loss

Kerr apologizes for viral rant reprimanding referees after Warriors’ loss originally aired on NBC Sports Bay Area

SAN FRANCISCO – Just minutes after the Warriors’ late loss to the Rockets on Wednesday in Houston, coach Steve Kerr angered the game’s officials with a sharp tirade that was heard around the basketball world.

Three days later, when Kerr gained clarity and had a private conversation with NBA officials, he apologized.

“Let me just say, I’m going to say it publicly, I’m embarrassed,” Kerr said after the team’s 90-minute practice Saturday. “Every time I criticize an official after the fact, I feel terrible. I’m embarrassed. Sometimes in these games emotions come out and you say things you regret.”

Kerr’s viral postgame rant on Wednesday night stemmed from a play in the final seconds. With the Warriors clinging to a 90-89 lead, forward Jonathan Kuminga and Rockets guard Jalen Green dove to the ground after a loose ball. Green arrived a split second earlier and Kuminga made an obviously physical attempt to deflect the ball. Team boss Bill Kennedy called Kuminga for a loose ball foul and gave Green two free throws with 3.5 seconds left.

Green did both, giving Houston a 91-90 lead that lasted until the final buzzer.

Kerr criticized Kennedy for the call that ultimately decided the game.

“You’re going to call a loose-ball foul in a jump-ball situation? With boys jumping around on the floor? “The game is on the line?” Kerr asked rhetorically during his postgame press conference. “This is a billion-dollar industry. Other people’s jobs are at stake.

“I give the Rockets credit. They fought back. They played great defense all night. But I feel for our boys. Our guys fought back, worked their butts off and deserved to win the game – or at least have a chance for a stop at the end to end the game. And that was taken away from us by a call that I don’t think an elementary school referee would have made because that guy would have felt and said, ‘You know what?’ “I’m not going to decide a game with a loose ball 80 feet from the basket. “”

Kerr said Saturday he would keep the NBA’s response secret but wanted to provide clarity and express remorse, particularly for disparaging Kennedy without mentioning him by name. Kennedy, 58, is a 27-year veteran with nearly 1,500 regular-season games and 151 NBA playoff games under his belt.

“I wouldn’t change a thing about complaining about the call,” Kerr said. “But Bill Kennedy is a great referee. I’ve been in the league for a long time. I feel good when I walk into the arena and see Bill. I feel bad for saying what I said afterwards. He doesn’t deserve that. That was my mistake.”

It was the second time this season that Kerr expressed significant anger at the officiating team, eight days earlier when he criticized a team led by veteran official Tyler Ford for not seeing Nuggets forward Christian Braun take one Took a timeout when Denver was out of players.

Calling a timeout when the allotment is exhausted results in a technical foul, which in this case would have given Golden State a free throw.

“Everyone saw it,” Kerr said Dec. 3 in Denver, “except the three guys we hire for the games.”

Kerr had better be careful. He is on the league’s radar and further cases could result in an announced fine.