Calacus Weekly Hit & Miss – Steve Kerr & UCL Final
Every week we look at the best and worst communicators in the sports world from the previous week.
HIT - STEVE KERR
Sport is an escape for millions of people, but national tragedy transcends its importance and puts into perspective its role in wider society.
Nineteen children were murdered in Uvalde, Texas last week, elementary school students attending their last week of classes before their summer holiday, when an 18-year-old gunman came through the door and opened fire.
The assailant also killed two adults, including a teacher, and shot his grandmother in her home before going to the school.
It's an all-too-common scene in the United States, where gunfire on school grounds is at historic levels. And it's not just after mass shootings — smaller-scale incidents at schools are also happening at alarming rates.
Ahead of the crucial Game 4 in the NBA Western Conference Finals between the Golden State Warriors and the Dallas Mavericks, Warriors, Head Coach Steve Kerr delivered an emotional and honest monologue at his pre-match press conference.
His impassioned rant began: “I’m not going to talk about basketball … any basketball questions don’t matter.
“Since we left shootaround, 14 children were killed, 400 miles from here. And a teacher. And in the last 10 days we’ve had elderly Black people killed in a supermarket in Buffalo, we’ve had Asian churchgoers killed in Southern California and now we have children murdered at school.
“When are we going to do something? I’m so tired of getting up here and offering condolences to the devasted families that are out there. I’m sorry but I’m tired of the moments of silence, enough.”
He continued: “There is 50 senators right now who refuse to vote on the background check rule that was passed by the House that’s been sitting there for 2 years. There’s a reason why they won’t vote on it, to hold on to power.
“So I ask you, Mitch McConnell and the other senators who refuse to do anything about the violence in school shootings and supermarket shootings. I ask you, are you going to put your own desire for power ahead of the lives of our children? And our elderly? And our churchgoers? Because that is what it looks like.
“It’s what we do every week. So, I’m fed up, I’ve had enough. We’re going to play the game tonight but I want every person here and everyone listening to this to think about your own child or grandchild or mother or father or brother or sister. How would you feel if this happened to you today?
“We can’t get numb to this. We can’t sit here and just read about it and go lets have a moment of silence and go and play a basketball game while 50 senators in Washington are going to hold us hostage.
“You realise that 90% of Americans regardless of political party want universal background checks. We are being held hostage by 50 senators in Washington who refuse to even put it to a vote. Despite what we the American people want.
“They won’t vote on it because they want to hold on to their own power. It’s pathetic, I’ve had enough.”
The Golden State Warriors are one of the most successful teams in the NBA in recent years, so when Kerr spoke, it resonated around the world.
Dallas Mavericks coach Jason Kidd also spoke about the shooting in his pre-game comments.
“We will truly play with heavy hearts tonight for the community, for the school of Robb Elementary School,” Kidd said: “As coaches, as fathers, we have kids, people in this room have kids, elementary school; you can just think about what could take place with any of your family or friends at a school. This is on-the-run job training, and we are going to try to play the game. We have no choice.
“The game is not going to be cancelled. But we have to find a way to be pro and find a way to win and move forward. But the news of what is happening, not just here in Texas but throughout our country, is sad.”
Kerr knows all too well what it is like to lose a family member in a terrorist attack, having lost his father 38 years ago in Beirut.
What he said in his press conference mattered because one could hear his emotion and share his pain. He spoke for all of us, and his press conference highlighted the power that sport can have to get messages across.
Other sports spokespeople would do well to take a leaf out of Steve Kerr’s book and take an active role in speaking out against social injustice.
Sports icons have the power to pressurise and have an impact on governments, so it is imperative that others follow Kerr’s lead.
MISS – UEFA CHAMPIONS LEAGUE FINAL
The Champions League final is biggest match in club football watched by an audience of billions around the world.
Having been moved from St Petersburg to Paris in response to Russia’s invasion of Ukraine, and featuring European giants Real Madrid and Liverpool, the event was overshadowed by bad organisation, police heavy-handedness and safety issues.
The final is a festival of football, with fan parks organised to cater for fans with and without tickets who want to enjoy the reverie and atmosphere ahead of the big match.
However, bottlenecks at the Liverpool end of the stadium created long queues and crushes which brought back memories of the Heysel and Hillsborough disasters, both involving Liverpool, tragedies which have long been etched on the memory.
As fans were calmly trying to enter the stadium, French police deployed tear gas and pepper spray, even women and children, denied access with legitimate tickets for the final.
These chaotic and frightening scenes resulted not only in empty seats with fans still queuing outside, but also in the match being delayed by half an hour.
Kick-off was initially delayed by 15 minutes before it was pushed back by a further 15 minutes. At the time, UEFA said the decision had been made due to the “late arrival of fans at the stadium.”
Somewhat prematurely, UEFA said in a statement: “In the lead-up to the game, the turnstiles at the Liverpool end became blocked by thousands of fans who had purchased fake tickets which did not work in the turnstiles.
“This created a build-up of fans trying to get in. As a result, the kick off was delayed by 35 minutes to allow as many fans as possible with genuine tickets to gain access.
“As numbers outside the stadium continued to build up after kick off, the police dispersed them with tear gas and forced them away from the stadium.
“UEFA is sympathetic to those affected by these events and will further review these matters urgently together with the French police and authorities, and with the French Football Federation.”
Liverpool FC and their fans were outraged that they had been blamed for the delays and pointed the finger at the police and their heavy-handed actions to disperse the disgruntled crowd.
The English club also released a statement: “We are hugely disappointed at the stadium entry issues and breakdown of the security perimeter that Liverpool fans faced this evening at Stade de France.
“This is the greatest match in European football and supporters should not have to experience the scenes we have witnessed tonight. We have officially requested a formal investigation into the causes of these unacceptable issues.”
Following these statements, Merseyside Police issued one of their own stating that: “We are aware of a number of reports relating to incidents both before and after last night’s Champions League Final at the Stade de France in Paris.
“We are also aware that Liverpool FC have requested a formal investigation from UEFA and we will be linking in with both the club, UEFA and the UK Football Policing Unit to pass on the observations of our officers who attended the game and took part in the pre-match meetings with the relevant authorities.
“As with all European matches officers from Merseyside were deployed in France to work in an observatory and advisory capacity with the local officers, and they have reported the vast majority of fans behaved in an exemplary manner, arriving at turnstiles early and queuing as directed and their observations will be passed on to the relevant authorities as part of the debrief for the game.
“We know that people would have witnessed a lot of distressing scenes last night and we wish everyone returning home from Paris a safe journey.”
Liverpool left-back Andy Robertson was also quick to voice his frustration at the events in an interview following his teams defeat. He said : “It’s a shambles really, one of my mates who got a ticket off me who was told he had a fake ticket which I can assure you he did not since the ticket came from me.
“Tear gas getting thrown at people is unacceptable. It’s horrendous for our fans and families and wasn’t a nice experience or a nice final to come to.
“The Champions League should be a celebration and it wasn’t. Obviously the final wasn’t meant to be here so preparations maybe weren’t as good as they should be. But I’m sure in the next couple of days an inquest will go into that. Hopefully all of our fans are okay and families are okay.”
In the aftermath of the match, France’s Sport Minister Amélie Oudéa-Castéra blamed the Liverpool fans for the troubles outside the stadium, saying: “"What happened, first of all, was this mass gathering of the British supporters of the Liverpool club, without tickets, or with fake tickets," she told French radio RTL on Monday.
"When there are that many people by the entrance to the stadium, there will be people trying to force their way in through the doors of the Stade de France, and a certain number of youths from the nearby area who were present tried to get in by mixing in with the crowd."
Oudéa-Castéra will meet with UEFA and other officials to discuss violent scenes at the Champions League final which will include police, stadium officials and the French Football Association.
These remarks from the French Government have been widely condemned, and rightly so, including Ronan Evain, Executive Director of Football Supporters Europe, who observed the mayhem unfold.
He stated that: “There is a problem with how French authorities organised the game — and now they’re deflecting to Liverpool fans, They want to avoid taking responsibility for what happened.
“There is a refusal [by the French authorities] to acknowledge that the Liverpool fans are the victims here,” They tear gassed elderly people and kids. You owe them an apology.”
The claim made by Oudéa-Castéra that 30-40,000 Liverpool fans tried to get to the game with a fake ticket or no ticket has also been widely condemned. As New York Times journalist Tariq Panja pointed out: “This fake tickets claim still being pushed. Yes, like every big game, probably some.
“But 40,000. If that was the case the Liverpool fan zone in Paris would have been empty and not full to capacity for the game, no?”
This fake ticket claim can be further disproved as it was suggested in a formal police report that as many as 40,000 attempts were made to enter the stadium with fake tickets or no tickets, causing a huge build-up
This however, ignores a very inconvenient detail in that as much as two hours before kick-off, in some parts of the ground, stewards had ceased checking tickets as security crumbled away.
Liverpool fans were also the target of numerous attacks from locals who assaulted and mugged them on their way to and from the game with the police doing nothing to intervene.
This is why an investigation is crucial. The developments after the game fell short of a full investigation, which has been demanded by the UK Secretary of State for Digital, Culture, Media and Sport, Nadine Dorries, who said: “It is in the interests of everyone involved to understand what happened and to learn lessons from these events."
This chorus of British politicians demanding an investigation has been backed up by some French politicians have called for an ‘in-depth investigation’ into the chaotic organisation of supporters attempting to enter the Stade de France.
Belatedly, UEFA announced that an independent report was to be commissioned into events at the Stade de France to “examine decision making, responsibility and behaviours of all entities involved in the final.”
Real Madrid won the final 1-0 thanks to a goal from Brazilian starlet Vinicius Jr to secure their 14th Champions League title, but in the end this match will be remembered for what happened off the pitch rather than on it.