Golden State Warriors head coach Steve Kerr has never been one to shy away from speaking his mind, and after Monday night’s 119-101 win over the Charlotte Hornets, he made it clear that he believes NBA officiating needs to do a better job calling traveling violations.
Kerr’s frustration boiled over in the third quarter when what he perceived as an obvious travel went uncalled.
Steve Kerr’s Plea to ‘Clean Up the Game’
His animated reaction earned him a technical foul, but he was far from apologetic afterwards. Instead, he doubled down on his stance postgame:
Steve Kerr received a technical tonight for yelling at the officials for missing a travel. He talked at length postgame about the issue: “Footwork is the basis of the game. We need to call traveling. It’ll be a much better game if we clean it up.” pic.twitter.com/6uaVEh9nr2
— Anthony Slater (@anthonyVslater) March 4, 2025
“I don’t understand why we are not teaching our officials to call travel in this league,” Kerr said. “They do a great job, they work their tails off, they communicate well, but I see five or six travels a game that aren’t called.”
The game itself wasn’t particularly close. Buddy Hield led the Warriors with 22 points, while Steph Curry chipped in a double-double with 21 points and 10 assists. Brandin Podziemski also impressed with 19 points and 11 rebounds, and Draymond Green came close to a triple-double with 16 points, 12 rebounds, and seven assists.
On the Hornets’ side, Miles Bridges did his best to keep things competitive with 35 points, while LaMelo Ball added 25. At the end of the day, however, the Warriors were simply too much to handle, sending Charlotte to their seventh straight loss.
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Yet, even in a comfortable win, Kerr’s focus was on a larger issue within the game. He emphasized that the problem isn’t just with other teams; his own players are guilty of it as well.
“You know it’s a problem when there are like a hundred fans in the stands and every coach on the sideline when I’m watching film and everyone is [signaling for a travel call],”. Kerr said. “Everyone is seeing it, so we are clearly not teaching our officials to look at the feet.”
Kerr is certainly not wrong in anything he’s saying. Traveling has long been a hot topic of discussion amongst NBA fans, analysts, and even former players, arguing how inconsistently the rule is enforced. Star players in particular seem to get away with it more often than not, with the “gather step” rule only adding to the confusion and frustration within the basketball community.
bro 😭😭😭 https://t.co/Ihr5WQpX8I pic.twitter.com/sYyUzJdtVL
— QuintenPostMuse (@QPostmuse) March 4, 2025
This isn’t the first time Kerr has spoken out about officiating either. He’s been very vocal in the past about inconsistencies in how the game is called, whether it’s travelling, illegal screens, or foul calls. His latest comments, however, highlight what he sees as a fundamental issue that’s affecting the integrity of the game.
“The entire game is based on footwork,” Kerr continued.” I’ve made that clear to the league, and maybe I’ll hear back from them after these comments, but for the good of the game, we need to enforce traveling violations.”
The NBA has taken steps to address these concerns, introducing measures like the Coach’s Challenge and expanding replay review. However, traveling remains one of the most difficult calls to make consistently. With the speed of the modern game, officials often prioritize more blatant calls over nitpicking footwork. But as Kerr pointed out, if traveling violations continue to be ignored, it risks altering the way basketball is played at its core.
