Steve Kerr, Warriors HC, in Minnesota: “There should be an appeal to our better angels”

Minnesota has been living under a suffocating, volatile atmosphere for several weeks amid the heavy presence of ICE agents – the federal agency charged with enforcing Donald Trump’s anti-immigration policy street by street, house by house. Their operations have been carried out ruthlessly, without weighing individual circumstances or context, and have at times turned violent.

The detention of five-year-old Liam Conejo Ramos by ICE spread around the world. The image of the terrified child wearing a blue cap was heartbreaking. The incident came just days after Renee Good was shot dead by a federal agent, and shortly before another fatal shooting – that of Alex Pretti during protests, some held at –10°C (14°F), across the streets of Minnesota against the presence of immigration enforcement officers.

The nurse’s death further escalated tensions in Minneapolis and St Paul, the Twin Cities, prompting the NBA to cancel Saturday’s game between the Minnesota Timberwolves and the Golden State Warriors. “We must prioritize the safety of the Minneapolis community,” the league said in a statement.

Sunday’s game did go ahead, with the Warriors winning 111–85, in what Steve Kerr, Golden State’s head coach, described as “one of the strangest and saddest games I’ve ever been part of.” “You could feel a somber atmosphere,” Kerr said. “The Wolves are dealing with everything that’s happening and has happened in the city. It was a sad night, a sad night. We got the win and we’re happy about that, but it’s hard to see so many people struggling. People came to the game to try to forget everything, I guess, but I don’t think the city or the team has been able to put it aside. They were hurting.”

Kerr was not the only figure in the basketball world to voice his anguish. Karl-Anthony Towns, a former franchise star now with the New York Knicks, wrote on social media: “What’s happening in the Twin Cities and the great North Star State is heartbreaking to witness. These events have cost lives and shattered families, and we must demand accountability, transparency, and protection for everyone.” Tyrese Haliburton was even more blunt online: “Alex Pretti was murdered.”

The response from the WNBA was more forceful still. “Abolish ICE” read the sign held by Breanna Stewart during player introductions at Unrivaled on Sunday. “Honestly, all day yesterday I was upset by everything I was seeing on Instagram and in the news,” said the two-time WNBA MVP. “We’re being fed so much hate right now instead of love, and I wanted to have a simple message: ‘Abolish ICE,’ which means having policies that help families and communities instead of fueling fear and violence.”

The three-time league champion acknowledged that the anti-immigration crackdown hits even closer to home because of her wife, the Spanish former player Marta Xargay, who is in the process of obtaining US citizenship. “It’s scary,”Stewart said. “You see it on social media – families being torn apart, communities breaking down, and children involved. It’s the worst in every possible way.”

“And being married to Marta … we’re working on her citizenship, she’s a legal permanent resident and all of that. But it feels like none of it matters,” Stewart continued. “That’s why these policies need to be changed and why reform is necessary, because it doesn’t seem to be affecting the right people. It’s not helping anyone.”

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