Warriors' Steve Kerr gives grim warning after Rittenhouse verdict: US on 'dangerous path'
The Golden State coach has been outspoken on gun violence issues
{{#rendered}} {{/rendered}}Golden State Warriors coach Steve Kerr has called a Wisconsin jury's decision to acquit Kyle Rittenhouse "really scary and concerning."
Rittenhouse, 18, faced a mandatory life sentence if convicted of first-degree intentional homicide in the 2020 Kenosha shootings that left two people dead and another severely injured.
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{{#rendered}} {{/rendered}}Kyle Rittenhouse pulls numbers of jurors out of a tumbler during his trail at the Kenosha County Courthouse in Kenosha, Wis., on Tuesday, Nov. 16, 2021. The jurors selected through this process will not participate in deliberations. (Sean Krajacic/The Kenosha News via AP, Pool)
Kerr, never one to shy away from hot-button societal issues in the U.S., said the country is on a "dangerous path."
"We are seemingly all right with a teenager's right to take an AR-15 to an area where there is civil unrest. That's really scary and concerning," he said before the team’s game against the Detroit Pistons on Friday, via Reuters.
DETROIT, MICHIGAN - NOVEMBER 19: Head coach Steve Kerr of the Golden State Warriors looks on in the first half against the Detroit Pistons at Little Caesars Arena on November 19, 2021 in Detroit, Michigan. (Mike Mulholland/Getty Images)
The verdict "poses great risk going forward if we continue to go down this path of open carry, and states determining that people, even underage people, can have weapons of war. This is America, and we're treading down a dangerous path."
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The acquittal came on the fourth day of deliberations and 15th day of the trial. Jurors deliberated for a total of 26 hours and found Rittenhouse not guilty on five felony counts.
Golden State Warriors head coach Steve Kerr reacts on the sideline during the second half of an NBA basketball game against the Detroit Pistons, Friday, Nov. 19, 2021, in Detroit. (AP Photo/Carlos Osorio)
Rittenhouse spokesperson Dave Hancock told Fox News that "it's clear as day" that the teenager opened fire in self-defense.
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"I believe they were cerebral and they thought about every piece of the jury instructions," Hancock said of jurors. "So, justice was done for Kyle. He gets to live life as a free young man."
Fox News’ Audrey Conklin contributed to this report.