NBA Coaches Continue to Lead Conversations on Society's Uncomfortable Issues

Less than a week had gone by since the Golden State Warriors lost Game 7 of the Finals, and head coach Steve Kerr was going all-in on police shootings and the need for sensible gun control.

After talking at length about the playoffs, Game 7 itself and everything that flowed forth in its wake, Kerr pivoted in a podcast interview to a topic that is both painful and personal for him. In January 1984, his father, Malcolm, then the president of the American University of Beirut, was assassinated on campus by two gunmen.

After yet another rash of high-profile, police-involved shootings this past summer, Kerr used whatever platform offered to him to make his voice heard. "The rest of the world thinks we're insane," he told Tim Kawakami of the San Jose Mercury News. "We are insane."

On Friday, Kerr again used a podcast platform, this time with CSN Bay Area's Monte Poole, to speak his mind on a societal issue, specifically the use of medicinal marijuana in treating chronic pain. Kerr admitted he tried medicinal pot last year when he was recovering from complications related to his offseason back surgery.

Rather than more powerful narcotics like Vicodin or Percocet, Kerr did the research and opted for cannabis. In admitting his actions, he was hoping to destigmatize its use and start a conversation about chronic pain, and why sports leagues permit powerful opioids for treatment yet ban less addictive and harmful alternatives.

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Steve Kerr's complete comments tonight regarding his use of medicinal marijuana and how leagues should approach the issue of pain relief. pic.twitter.com/8ScmB3zZGO

— Erik Malinowski (@erikmal) December 4, 2016"

"I was a little surprised about the fact that it became kind of a big deal," Kerr said before Saturday night's drubbing of the Phoenix Suns. "Because of the way the world works, what is a very serious conversation about pain relief turns into the headline 'Kerr Smokes Pot.' So I guess that's the world we live in."

Anyone who knows Kerr knows this is entirely within his character, to speak out on social issues that might affect his family or his team. At the height of the controversy surrounding Colin Kaepernick's refusal to stand during the national anthem, Kerr made reasoned and rational appeals for understanding, for people to look beyond the act itself and consider the underlying reasons for its necessity.

That's why it wasn't surprising when his mentor, San Antonio Spurs head coach Gregg Popovich, was recently so raw and unflinching in the wake of Donald Trump's ascent to the presidency. Same goes for Detroit Pistons coach Stan Van Gundy, who called the president-elect "openly and brazenly racist and misogynistic."

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On some level, this is exactly what a coach is supposed to do. Think back to the Los Angeles Clippers' tumultuous playoff run of 2014, when owner Donald Sterling was essentially sent into exile after audio recordings of his use of all sorts of vile, racist language were leaked to TMZ and Deadspin.

Doc Rivers, the Clippers head coach, held that team together in the face of sudden and unexpected turmoil to survive a gripping seven-game series with Golden State.

The NBA's coaching collective has only become more comfortable with speaking out since then. Even Earl Watson, just 37 years old and in his first full season as coach of the Phoenix Suns, offered a measured caveat to some of Kerr's comments after Saturday's game.

All of these voices—not necessarily in agreement, but at least united in advocating for free-flowing, back-and-forth discussion on critical issues—are encouraging to see from those in power, who are most in contact with players and understand the struggles they face and the experiences that have shaped them.

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It's no wonder the NBA is the most forward-thinking league in all of American professional sports. How refreshing it is to have one that feels firmly rooted in 2016, for all its good and ills, and not some bygone era 30 or 40 years in the past.

It's especially important for NBA coaches to be on the same level as their players. With a roster of only 15 at any given time, it's the smallest collection of players in any pro sport. Everyone knows what's going on with their teammates, and coaches have to be in sync with what's going on in their locker rooms. Look at teams with communication breakdowns between players and coaches; it's rarely a surprise why they happen.

Let's hope the NBA continues to embrace and encourage this kind of agenda-setting on the part of the coaching ranks, if not outwardly, then tacitly. So far, all indications have been that the league office is more than happy to let coaches speak out without fear of repercussion. That's admirable.

It's also good business for the NBA.

If you believe the NFL's popularity surge is slowing down, or if you believe baseball is too firmly rooted in the past, then you also likely believe pro basketball has the most enticing growth potential of any sports league.

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The way to keep growing is to keep evolving, with the times and where we are as a nation. That's where Kerr and these other NBA coaches feel a moral responsibility, in speaking out on issues that directly affect them and their players' quality of life.

With his recent admission, Kerr felt that if raising this kind of awareness can help improve the life of at least one person who's going through something similar—if it starts a conversation that can affect some kind of change—then all the hullabaloo is worth it.

"I wasn't trying to draw attention to myself," Kerr said. "I didn't want to be a distraction to anybody, but it's an important topic, so hopefully people think about it."

Erik Malinowski is the Golden State Warriors lead writer for B/R. Quotes are obtained firsthand unless otherwise noted. You can follow him on Twitter: @erikmal.