Team USA coach Steve Kerr reacts to Donald Trump shooting

ABU DHABI, United Arab Emirates — Calling it a “terrible” and “demoralizing day for our country,” U.S. coach Steve Kerr tried to sum up his team’s emotions Sunday following an assassination attempt on former President Donald Trump.

“This is a moment where we are very proud to represent our country by wearing the American flag on our chest, by participating in the Olympics,” Kerr said. “We talked to the players about the importance of showing the best version of ourselves as human beings to represent our country in a respectful and dignified way. It makes us want to do it even more because it is really shameful for us to sit here and think about what happened and what is happening in our country.”

Kerr, whose father Malcolm was assassinated in 1984 in Beirut, Lebanon, has long been a critic of gun violence. Malcolm Kerr was targeted by the militant group Islamic Jihad because he was president of the American University of Beirut.

“This is a very demoralizing day for our country, and it’s another example of not only our political division, but also our gun culture,” Kerr said. “A 20-year-old with an AR-15 trying to shoot the former president. It’s hard to take it all in, and it’s scary to think about what this is going to be like because of the problems that already exist in the country. So it’s a terrible day.”

“Thank God Trump wasn’t hit, but it’s so demoralizing in every way.”

In a social media post, Trump said he was “shot through the top of my right ear” at a rally in Butler, Pennsylvania, on Saturday. Trump was quickly removed from the scene by Secret Service agents, his ear covered in blood. Early Sunday morning, the FBI identified the suspected shooter as Thomas Matthew Crooks, 20.

Players and coaches were notified of the events Sunday morning. In a statement, the FBI said “the investigation remains active and ongoing.”

“It’s obviously a very sad time in general,” said Team USA star Stephen Curry. “All the conversations around the election and the state of politics in our country, and then you have a situation like this, which brings up a lot of emotions around things that we need to fix as a people.”

“Of course, gun control is paramount because there is a possibility that someone could commit an attack like this. But most importantly, we need to see positivity and hope. It may sound corny, but it’s real. This is when our country is at its best, and this just adds another stain to what’s happening. Sad is the right word.”

Martina Strong, the U.S. ambassador to the United Arab Emirates, addressed the team at an event scheduled for Sunday. The U.S. team will remain in the Middle East this week before playing Olympic warm-up games against Australia on Monday and Serbia on Wednesday.

“Of course, what we do is very mundane, we just play basketball, but we want to do the best we can to give people a glimpse of what our country can be,” Kerr said. “And then when you hear something like that, it’s so demoralizing and obviously so sad.”