They’re going to need Mack truck to haul away the swear jar from Thursday night’s matchup between Steve Kerr’s Golden State Warriors and Gregg Popovich‘s San Antonio Spurs.
Frustrated with foul calls, or a lack thereof, in the first quarter, Kerr had some measured words for the officiating crew on hand: “F**k you, motherf**ker.”
Steve Kerr argues foul calls with foul language 😳 pic.twitter.com/SZX7v4160H
— Bleacher Report (@BleacherReport) November 3, 2017
That apparently wasn’t enough to get the Warriors head coach in trouble, so he went back for more and finally drew a technical foul.
You don’t want to make Steve Kerr angry… pic.twitter.com/9Sp9uQaNbv
— Warriors on NBCS (@NBCSWarriors) November 3, 2017
Steve Kerr going after Marc Davis, just got his first T of the season, and Mike Brown delivered his first ‘hold me back’ of the season.
— Anthony Slater (@anthonyVslater) November 3, 2017
If the plan was to fire up his team, it worked. After going down by as much as 19 in the first quarter, Golden State stormed back behind hot shooting from (the real) Klay Thompson to win handily, 112-92.
As his team melted down, Popovich took his turn lambasting the refs. He drew a technical for, much like Kerr, arguing for a travel. Then he told one official that he’s a “terrible f**king referee.”
That earned him a second technical and the boot.
It’s no surprise that Kerr and Popovich react similarly to officiating incompetence. Kerr played under Pop in San Antonio for four seasons, and cites him as a coaching mentor.
“Pop’s my guy,” Kerr said in 2015. “He’s one of my mentors, along with Lute Olson and Phil Jackson. I’ve drawn a lot of inspiration from Pop, a lot of knowledge.”
Popovich also reveres his former player.
“He loves life,” Pop said of Kerr in 2014. “He gets along with everybody. He’s inclusive. He’s participatory. He’s comfortable in his own skin. He’ll be himself. You’ll see him laugh at times. He can laugh at himself. He’s got that self-deprecating characteristic that’s really attractive.”
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