What Steve Kerr Said

This morning I was lucky enough to catch game 3 of the Heat-76ers first-round series, and it was a good game, especially for this Heat Stan. Miami trailed the entire first half, looked good coming out of the break only to falter from a 12-0 Sixers' run, and then managed to right the ship in the 4th quarter, claiming a 3-0 series lead.

That was pretty much expected. What wasn't was Steve Kerr's comment in the closing minutes that, "barring a bus crash," the Heat will undoubtedly win the series.

Tasteless? Inappropriate? Voodoo? Honestly, I don't know anymore.

Were Steve Kerr -- one of the best announcers in any sport, by the way -- sitting next to me when he said that I probably would have laughed at the statement's morbid truth. Then I would have marveled that Steve Kerr had been teleported into my apartment.

I suppose Steve's comment is considered NSFW. Death, even of the hypothetical variety, is a sensitive issue, as Kerr undoubtedly knows. I'm sure, also, that he's the kind of guy who realized what he said casually then immediately registered the weight of his words. If I were to make a comment like that, odds are in my favor that no one in present company has been affected by a horrible traffic accident (unless my wife is there, because her mother was killed in such a way). But on live television, with millions tuned in, those odds aren't as good, and they're compounded by the fact that, instead of genuine offense taken, a lot of people are conditioned to look for it, to sniff it out like a German Shepherd does drugs at an airport, and to get up in arms over it. It's evident in Western society that a large percentage of the population, subconsciously or not, seeks out ways to get offended.

Sorry, for a couple minutes there I forgot Steve is white (not his fault!).

Taking a guess here, but Kerr's comment won't be scrutinized by the league, nor will he be reprimanded. Whether he is or not, I'm also betting that Kerr himself will offer up an apology. That's the kind of guy Steve Kerr is. He knows a lot about insensitivity in sports. And there was no malice in what he said. It was a comment perhaps too casual for some viewers -- he made Marv Albert shout, "Whoa!" no mean feat, that -- but there was no hate in what he said.

But if Kerr were black, I imagine we'd have a different scenario. Yes, I went there.