“I received a phone call in the middle of the night from a family friend,” Steve Kerr tells The Last Dance, a Netflix
documentary that tells the gripping story of his great Chicago Bulls squad from the 1990s.
Kerr recalls 19 January 1984, when he learned his father had been slain in a targeted terrorist attack in Lebanon. The
18-year-old was attending the University of Arizona at the time, while his father served as president of the American
University of Beirut. Malcolm Kerr, whose predecessor had been kidnapped six months before, was shot in the back
of the head by Shia militants in the corridor outside his office.
“My phone rang in my dorm at 3 a.m., so I knew something was up. He simply remarked, “Steve, I have terrible
news.” “So, yeah…”
Kerr was born in Beirut and went to school there and in Cairo before relocating to Los Angeles as a teenager. He
graduated in 1983, and just a few months later, his father was assassinated.
It lit a fire in the humble teenager, fueling his desire to play professional basketball. Four years later, during a
university game, Kerr was attacked by Arizona State supporters who screamed “PLO” (the Palestine Liberation
Organization, which is linked to Malcolm’s killing) and “where’s your father?” Kerr fought back tears but could not
respond, instead delivering one of his best performances, hitting six of six three-pointers in a relentless first half and
driving his side to victory.
He was drafted to the NBA’s Phoenix Suns later that year, and went on to play for the Cleveland Cavaliers and
Orlando Magic before earning a move to the Chicago Bulls and becoming part of their astonishing era of success,
inspired by the talent of Michael Jordan and driven by his unparalleled will to win.
Kerr recalled in The Last Dance how he eventually earned Jordan’s respect after snapping during a tense training
session and punching a teammate in the chest. Astonished that someone had stood up to him, the towering Jordan
clopped Kerr straight back in the eye, and their relationship developed from strength to strength from that day on.
Kerr earned three NBA championship rings with the Bulls. His humility rang through in the documentary as he
praised the influence of his colleagues, and he later acknowledged to being “embarrassed” that he received so much
airtime in the series ahead of other, more significant players.
