Steve Kerr’s Harvard support didn’t sit well with a former colleague.
On Tuesday night, Kerr supported the Ivy League university that is currently a target of President Donald Trump, among other universities, for several reasons, including its process for enrolling international students, anti-semitism on campus and its tax-exempt status, by wearing a Harvard basketball shirt at a postgame press conference.
The Trump administration froze $2.2 billion in multi-year grants and $60 million in multi-year contracts after Harvard refused to comply with its demands.
However, former Warriors part-owner Chamath Palihapitiya sounded off on the Warriors coach of 11 years in a scorching post on Friday.
“Steve Kerr is a hapless rube. He is blindly defending an institution that: 1) Is a Corporation with a $53B balance sheet masquerading as a non profit,” Palihapitiya wrote on X. “2) Has the absolute worst scores for freedom of speech amongst ALL colleges in America. 3) Was admonished and defeated by the Supreme Court because they were discriminating in their admissions process and violated the Constitution. 4) Has allowed anti Semitism to fester unchecked on campus to such a degree that it led to the ouster of their President because of her incompetence in dealing with it.
“Normally, when an executive at a company where I own equity speaks on topics beyond their knowledge and reveals themselves to be an idiot I usually just fire them or sell my equity. Fortunately, I already sold all my equity in the Warriors last year at the-then all time high so this isn’t my problem but the total ignorance of his comments still stands.”
postgame press conference on April 15, 2025. X @StevenRissotto
Palihapitiya, 48, who was an early executive at Facebook and later in charge of a venture capital fund, had a 10 percent stake in the Warriors starting in 2011 through 2022.
Kerr and Palihapitiya crossed paths for seven seasons once the head coach came to the Bay Area in 2014.
Kerr was asked about wearing the Harvard shirt following the Warriors’ play-in win over the Grizzlies, 121-116, and made his political stance clear, as he is often known for.
“Oh, is something going on?” he joked to kick off his answer. “Tommy Amaker is a friend of mine. Harvard coach. He sent me this shirt — actually, we practiced there in Boston in November. He gave me this shirt and it felt like a great day to wear it. I believe in academic freedom. I think it’s crucial for all of our institutions to be able to handle their own business the way they want to, and they should not be shaken down and told what to teach, what to say, by our government. That’s the dumbest thing I’ve ever heard but it’s kinda par for the course right now. So, yes, this is me supporting Harvard. Way to go, way to stand up to the bully.”
The No. 7 Warriors start their first-round playoff series against the No. 2 Rockets on Sunday night.