Steve Kerr Throws Support Behind Harvard After Trump Freezes University Funds

Golden State Warriors head coach Steve Kerr isn’t just known for his basketball strategy—he also knows how to make a statement. On Tuesday night, Kerr showed up to a news conference sporting a Harvard basketball shirt, just hours after the Trump administration announced a freeze on $2.2 billion in federal grants and contracts for Harvard University.

The funding freeze came after Harvard’s president, Alan M. Garber, said the university wouldn’t comply with the administration’s new demands intended to combat antisemitism. Instead of quietly toeing the line, Garber and the school made it clear they wouldn’t accept what they saw as government overreach. If you ask me, Harvard’s response was basically the academic equivalent of flipping the table and walking out.

Kerr, ever the showman, opened his remarks with a wink: "Is something going on?"—drawing laughs from the press. He explained the shirt was a gift from Harvard coach Tommy Amaker and took the opportunity to champion academic freedom. "I believe it’s crucial for all of our institutions to be able to handle their own business the way they want to," Kerr said. "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 kind of par for the course right now. This is me supporting Harvard. Way to go, way to stand up to the bully."

Kerr’s defiant streak isn’t new—his father was a Middle East scholar who was assassinated in 1984, and Kerr himself has been an outspoken critic of Trump, even endorsing Kamala Harris for president in 2024. He spoke to reporters after the Warriors clinched the seventh playoff seed by beating the Memphis Grizzlies.

Meanwhile, Garber revealed that Harvard wasn’t the only university facing threats to its federal partnerships amid accusations of antisemitism on campus. The administration had issued expanded demands, saying Harvard would need to comply if it wanted to keep federal funding. Garber shot back that the government’s approach was anything but cooperative, and Harvard wouldn’t accept the proposed agreement.

Earlier this month, a federal antisemitism task force launched a review of nearly $9 billion in Harvard’s federal grants and contracts, as the university became the focus of a campus antisemitism investigation. The showdown between Harvard and Washington seems far from over—and with Kerr in Harvard’s corner, the drama definitely isn’t cooling down.