At first glance, Steve Kerr and Janet Mills have little in common.
He’s an NBA coach and former player, winning nine titles over his career. She’s a lawyer who’s spent most of her adult life in politics, currently as a governor. He’s from California, she’s from Maine. He’s 59, she’s 77.
It’s where they’re similar, however, that matters: Both recognize that President Donald Trump and his flunkies are shredding our Constitution and the rule of law, and they refuse to stay quiet about it.
“Let today serve as warning to all states: Maine might be among the first to draw the ire of the Federal government in this way, but we will not be the last,” Mills said in a statement.
“As I have said previously, this is not just about who can compete on the athletic field, this is about whether a President can force compliance with his will, without regard for the rule of law that governs our nation. I believe he cannot.”
Two days earlier, Harvard had refused Trump’s mob boss-esque demands that it become Pyongyang U., prompting Kerr to wear a Harvard basketball T-shirt after Tuesday night’s game.
“I believe in academic freedom,” said Kerr, whose father was a longtime university professor and was assassinated while serving as president of the American University of Beirut.
“I think it’s crucial for all of our institutions to be able to handle their own business the way they want to and they should not be shaken down and told what to teach, what to say, by our government,” Kerr said. “That’s the dumbest thing I’ve ever heard but it’s kind of par for the course right now.
“So yes, this is me supporting Harvard. Way to go. Way to stand up to the bully.”
Two very different people, yet two very similar messages: Do not give in, do not stay silent.
This country is in the midst of an existential crisis because we have a president who thinks he’s a king and is surrounded by people who don’t have the guts to tell him he’s wrong. Trump and his people are ignoring court decisions, disappearing people, wrecking the economy and taking away services the American people have paid for. Any one of which would be a concern for our democracy but, taken together, is a five-alarm fire.
This should be a concern for every American, regardless of whom you voted for. Trump supporters might be happy with some of his moves — though that’s debatable, judging by the polls and town halls — but he will not be president forever. Imagine a Democrat with Trump’s authoritarian bent and you see where the problem is.
(And before you at me on Joe Biden, just … don’t. I’ll spot you Supreme Court and student loan forgiveness if you need help.)
Our system isn’t perfect. Far from it. But it’s better than the autocracy Trump is trying to usher in, and if we don’t speak out now, it’ll be too late.
We’re already seeing the negative impact of Elon Musk and DOGE taking a chainsaw to the National Institutes of Health and our national parks and Social Security staff. Unless we resist, the effects of all this destruction become baked in and it’ll be generations before we can fix it.
Which is why people like Kerr and Mills are so important.
There is a risk in speaking out, which Mills has seen firsthand. Since she first stood up to Trump, the federal government has frozen funding used to feed Maine schoolchildren and disabled adults, cut money for Maine’s Department of Corrections and briefly halted programs that allowed Maine parents to get Social Security numbers for their newborns before leaving the hospital.
But by standing firm, Mills shows other people there are fights worth having. And, as important, that these fights can be won. The Trump administration backed down on the Social Security numbers, and has been ordered to restore the food funding.
Kerr might not face the same level of risk — though when Trump says he’d like to disappear U.S. citizens, all bets are off! — but his platform is larger. He can get the attention of some people who don’t otherwise pay attention to politics and the dumpster fire that is our country right now, and his opinions can help move those who wouldn’t otherwise understand the urgency.
Trump is a bully, and as any grade-schooler can tell you, the best way to deal with a bully is to stand up to him. In doing so, Kerr and Mills are showing the rest of us how to stand up, too. The future of our country depends on it.
Follow USA TODAY Sports columnist Nancy Armour on social media @nrarmour.