Team USA's Steve Kerr addresses 'demoralizing day' after Donald Trump assassination attempt, calls for unity

In a time of unrest in the United States, Team USA basketball head coach Steve Kerr is calling for unity in the wake of the attempted assassination of former president and presidential candidate Donald Trump.

Kerr, calling it a "terrible" and "demoralizing day" for the U.S., said he is still proud to represent the country in competition.

"This is a time where we feel very proud to represent our country wearing USA on our chest, competing in the Olympics," Kerr said on Sunday. "We've talked to the players about how important it is to show the best version of us as human beings to represent our country in a respectful, dignified manner. It makes you want to do that even more so, because this is really shameful for us to sit here and think about what happened and what's going on in our country."

The team, which is currently practicing in Abu Dhabi, United Arab Emirates, ahead of the 2024 Olympics in Paris, woke on Sunday to the news of the assassination attempt, which took place Saturday at a rally near Pittsburgh.

"It's such a demoralizing day for our country, and it's yet another example of not only our political division but also gun culture," Kerr said. "A 20-year-old with an AR-15 trying to shoot the former president. It's hard to process everything, and it's scary to think about where this goes because of the issues that already exist in the country. So this is a terrible day."

Kerr also expressed gratitude that Trump was not hit or seriously hurt by the attempt.

Kerr's father, Malcolm, was assassinated in Beirut, Lebanon, in 1984 after being targeted by militant group Islamic Jihad. Malcolm Kerr was the president of the American University of Beirut, which resulted in him being a target. As a result, Kerr has long been vocal about gun control.

Team USA star Stephen Curry also spoke on the issue, calling it a "sad time in general."

"All the conversations around the election and the state of politics in our country, and then you have a situation like this, which just [creates] a lot of emotions around things that we need to correct as a people," Curry said. "Obviously, gun control first and foremost, because the fact that that's even possible for somebody to have an attack like that.

"But just more so you want to [see] positivity and hope. It sounds cheesy, but it's real. That's when our country's at its best, and it just adds another blemish to what's going on. So sad is just the word."

Team USA will compete for a 17th, and fifth consecutive, Olympic gold medal in men's basketball this summer. The team will also play exhibition games against Australia and Serbia on July 15 and 17 before traveling to Paris.

"Obviously what we're doing is very trivial, we’re just playing basketball, but we want to put our best selves out there to try to give people a glimpse of what our country can be about," Kerr said, "and then you hear something like this and it's just so demoralizing."