Getty Head coach Steve Kerr of the Golden State Warriors reacts to the officials on a no foul call.
Golden State Warriors coach Steve Kerr was proud of how his team responded following two embarrassing losses at home that were met with boos from their home fans.
Kerr thought they deserved the boos. But he thought the exact opposite when the Bulls fans booed the late Jerry Krause, the former Bulls general manager who went down in history as the man who broke up their team’s dynasty in the ’90s.
“It’s shameful. It’s absolutely shameful,” Kerr told reporters after the game snapped the skid with a 140-131 over Kerr’s former team. “I cannot believe — I’m devastated for Thelma and the Krause family. What can we possibly be thinking?”
Krause’s wife Thelma, who represented the two-time Executive of the Year during the induction ceremony, was visibly upset and shaken by the unwelcoming reception from the Bulls fans.
Chicago Bulls fans booed late GM Jerry Krause during the team’s inaugural Ring of Honor celebration.
The crowd’s reaction left Krause’s widowed wife Thelma visibly shaken.
Steve Kerr Gives His Flowers to Jerry Krause
Kerr won three NBA titles as a player with the Bulls’ second three-peat team led by Michael Jordan and assembled by Krause. So, it pained Kerr to see the man who signed him to play for an iconic franchise get disrespected.
“I cannot believe that the fans — and you have to understand, when you hear boos, it’s not all of them. So the fans who booed, they know who they are, and that’s, to me, it’s absolutely shameful, and I’m devastated by that.
“Because it’s just — what are we doing? Whether people liked Jerry or not, whether they disagreed with the decision to move on from — whatever, like, we’re here to celebrate that team.
“Jerry did an amazing job building that team. Tonight and last night were all about the joy and the love that that team shared with the city, and I’m so disappointed in the fans. And I want to be specific, because there were lots of fans I’m sure who did not boo. But those who booed, they should be ashamed.”
Kerr and Krause were part of the inaugural Chicago Bull’s Ring of Honor class, which featured the 1995-96 team along with 13 men, including Phil Jackson, Artis Gilmore, Johnny “Red” Kerr, Dick Klein, Bob Love, Jerry Sloan, Chet Walker and Tex Winter.
Bob Myers Avoided Jerry Krause’s Pitfall
Former Warriors general manager Bob Myers avoided going down like Krause when he left the team in the offseason.
The move kept Myers from making the tough decision of breaking up the aging core of the Warriors’ dynasty that won four championships over the last nine seasons.
Myers had moved on to ESPN as an analyst and to the Washington Commanders in the NFL in a senior advisory role.
Since Myers left, the Warriors have struggled to find their championship form with their core players’ sporadic play and volatile behavior.
Klay Thompson and Andrew Wiggins have become inconsistent. Draymond Green had been fined and suspended.
The Warriors went to Kerr’s old stomping ground teetering amid trade speculations.
And they heaved a sigh of relief after overcoming a 13-point Bulls lead to get back in the win column.