Gregg Popovich has definitely let his political feelings be known this year.
It started during the vice presidential debate when Popovich called Mike Pence and Tim Kaine’s performance “disgusting.”
Then, once Donald Trump won the general election, Popovich had a very vocal tirade about the president-elect. And with the news of Trump appointing controversial Breitbart executive Steve Bannon as chief strategist, the San Antonio Spurs’ head coach was at it again.
When asked about Bannon’s role in the Trump cabinet, Popovich called the decision “troublesome.”
“Well, I think [Bannon’s appointment] is very troublesome to many of us. As I said, it would be great if [Trump] made some statements to all of the groups he disparaged, to bring us all together, and to allay fears, because there are a lot of fearful people, and for good reason. But rather than doing that, he inflamed it even more with that appointment. It’s kind of ironic.
“I wonder sometimes if [Trump] made all those statements, he certainly whipped up the fearmongering and emotion in that base, but it’s going to be ironic because now a lot of the things he told them he’s going to do he’s already started to walk back a little bit. It’s sort of like, did he use them all toget elected, and thus winning again? He’s pretty good at that. You can’t believe anything that comes out of his mouth. It changes day to day, depending on the situation and what he needs at the moment.”
It seems weird that an NBA coach would be asked so many questions about politics. However, with Popovich’s strong opinions, it seems like he will continue to receive these sorts of questions going forward.
Funny enough, it seems like the only thing Popovich hasn’t elaborated on when it has come to our future president is how his team would handle a trip to the White House if the Spurs were to win a championship. It’s also probably the only political question that directly relates to Popovich’s profession.
