Steve Kerr Defends Stance When Asked About Not Attending Stephon Clark Rally

A Sacramento, California, reporter questioned Golden State Warriors head coach Steve Kerr on Saturday about him and his team not attending the march for Stephon Clark put on by former Warriors and Sacramento Kings forward Matt Barnes.

According to ESPN's Chris Haynes, a reporter asked Kerr if he was being contradictory by not attending.

Kerr said the following in response:

"It's up to each individual if he is going to pick his spots to make his contribution to society. I'm very confident and comfortable in my own skin. And [our players] what they do for our communities, the way they speak out, the way I've spoken out. I feel very, very confident in what we've tried to do and I'm also very, very serious about my job. So, you can balance that whichever way you want. You can be accusatory if you like. I'm comfortable with what our team does and with what I do."

The Kings were set to host the Warriors on Saturday night at 10 p.m. ET (7 p.m. PT).

The rally took place at noon local time on Saturday across the street from Sacramento City Hall, per Tony Bizjak, Darrell Smith and Jon Schultz of the Sacramento Bee.

Barnes spoke about Clark, who was shot and killed by police officers on March 18. The two officers pursuing him said they thought the 22-year-old Clark was holding a gun, but it was a cellphone.

Kerr has been outspoken on social issues in recent years, as have the Warriors' two biggest star players in Kevin Durant and Stephen Curry.

After a series of black people getting shot by police in 2016, Kerr said, "I would hope that every American is disgusted with what is going on around the country," according to Marissa Payne of the Washington Post.

Kerr also expressed support for former San Francisco 49ers quarterback Colin Kaepernick protesting during the national anthem.

Although no Warriors players or personnel attended Saturday's rally, Kings guard Garrett Temple was there, per Rhiannon Walker of ESPN's The Undefeated.