Malcolm Kerr was a university professor specializing in the Middle East and the Arab world. An American citizen born and raised in Beirut, Lebanon, he was appointed President of the American University in Beirut in 1982.

On January 18, 1984, the fifty-two-year-old academic was shot and killed by two gunmen in the hallway outside his office. The Islamic Jihadist, a Hezbollah militant organization, took credit for the murder, but information regarding the assassins and their motives are still unclear.

Following the passage of the Antiterrorism and Effective Death Penalty Act in 1996, Malcom Kerr’s family sued Iran and was granted a monetary judgment. The Iranian government did not contest the lawsuit, but the money has not been paid.

Malcolm Kerr

Malcolm Kerr and his wife, Ann, had four children, the third of whom is Steve Kerr, a former NBA (National Basketball Association) player and the current head coach of the Golden State Warriors.

Kerr was a member of five championship teams as a player and has led the Warriors to four titles as coach.

Steve Kerr

At the time of his father’s murder, Steve Kerr was a freshman at the University of Arizona. On January 20, 1984, two days after his father’s murder, Arizona played arch-rival Arizona State in Tempe. Kerr insisted on playing and the game was marked by a disgusting display from several ASU fans.

Throughout the game, approximately ten-to-twelve Sun Devils fans heckled “Where’s your father?” at the eighteen-year-old Steve. The future NBA player and coach said that was the only time, as a collegiate or as a pro, that he felt vindictive on a basketball court.

The chants fueled Kerr’s ire as he had his best game of the season, hitting six three-pointers in the first half as the Wildcats trounced their rival, 71-49.

In a 1996 interview, Steve Kerr said he was not an overly spiritual person but on that night, he thought his father, as an angel, may have been putting the Sun Devil fans in their place.

Kerr Has A Great Game

https://www.findagrave.com/memorial/6006836/malcolm-hooper-kerr#

SOURCES:

• ESPN
• Los Angeles Times
• NBC News
• New York Times