As it’s just hours until 2024 Election Day, we now republish some of our more scathing past posts on Donald J. Trump. Here is one about San Antonio Spurs coach Gregg Popovich from January 2017. Also, as reports of Popovich having serious health issues emerged, we just want to say get well soon, Pop. Pulling for you!
Popovich absolutely lambasted Donald Trump. Pop eviscerated Trump for the xenophobic, misogynist, racist, offensive and immature campaign conducted by the then President-Elect.
Gregg Popovich wasn’t the only NBA figure calling Trump out. Golden State Warriors Coach Steve Kerr pointed out the crude, low-brow direction that Trump took the race for the presidency.
Detroit Pistons Coach Stan Van Gundy highlighted the hypocrisy of the “morals” and “values” based voters who cast their vote for Trump.
Jabari Parker and Joel Embiid expressed the serious concern they had for the direction of the country.
Gregg Popovich verbally destroyed Trump again this past weekend, pointing out the new POTUS’ thin-skinned narcissism and immaturity, among his many alarming defects.
After the Women’s March was a resounding success (even more so than even the most optimistic march organizer could have imagined) Popovich articulated how pleased he was with the display of zeal and activism conveyed by the American citizenry.
(Go here for photos of some of the better signs from the Women’s March)
Pop also warned us that we must be vigilant. (Also, you’ll want to check out Kerr and Popovich making “alternative facts” jokes on NBA TV)
transcript courtesy of SB Nation.
The march today was great. That message is important and it could have been a whole lot of groups marching. And somebody said on TV, โWhatโs their message?โ Well, their message is obvious. That’s our president comes in with the lowest (approval) rating of anybody whoever came into the office.
And thereโs a majority of people out there, since Hillary won the popular vote, that donโt buy his act. And I just wish that he was more โ had the ability to be more โ mature enough to do something that really is inclusive rather than just talking and saying, โIโm going to include everybody.โ
He could talk to the groups that he disrespected and maligned during the primary and really make somebody believe it. But so far, weโve got to a point where you really canโt believe anything that comes out of his mouth. You really canโt. All those thousands that were over on the rooftops after 9/11? There were like two. And, โWe went to Hawaii and checked (Barack Obamaโs) birth certificate and investigators couldnโt believe what they found!โ
There wasnโt anything there. That kind of thing.
So, itโs over and over and over again.
With the CIA today, instead of honoring the 117 people behind him where he was speaking, he talked about the size of the crowd. Thatโs worrisome. Thatโs worrisome.
Iโd just feel better if somebody was in that position that showed the maturity and psychological and emotional level of somebody that was his age. Itโs dangerous and it doesnโt do us any good. I hope he does a great job but thereโs a difference between respecting the office of the presidency and who occupies it. And that respect has to be earned. But itโs hard to be respectful of someone when we all have kids and weโre watching him be misogynistic and xenophobic and racist and make fun of handicapped people.
And what really bothers me are the people around him. The Sean Spicers, the Kellyanne Conways, the Reince Priebuses that know who he is and actually have the cynical approach and disingenuous attitude to really defend him and try to make it look like he didnโt say what he said.
And so when heโs mad at the media for them reporting what he said, that just boggles my mind.
โKellyanne Conway the other day said that he wasnโt really making fun of that handicapped person. Itโs beyond, itโs incredible. It just really makes you wonder how far would someone go to actually cover for somebody that much.
The comment was, โWell you have to look in his heart, you donโt know whatโs in his heart. He wouldnโt do that.โ Well, no, he did it. And all the things that he said during that time, if our children wouldโve said it weโd (have) grounded him for six months.
Without a doubt. But we ignore all that because, because why? That says something about all of us and thatโs whatโs dangerous, or thatโs what scares the hell out of me to this day. It makes me uneasy.
โBut I felt great today watching the march in protest to how he has conducted himself, because it tells me hey, I really do live in a country where a whole lot of people care. And we have to be vigilant to make sure that, although we all hope that he does good things for our country, that we donโt get, you know, embarrassed by him, and roll back liberties that have been worked for so long in so many different areas.
So, I think thatโs enough to make somebody think I sound horrible.
โWell, I think you know when the media reports what he says, Iโm not sure why he can get angry about that. But it is, it does boggle the mind how somebody can be so thin skinned.
Itโs all obvious, itโs about him.
If anything affects him, if itโs โSaturday Night Liveโ or โHamilton,โ or she got three more million votes than you. โTheyโre illegal.โ It doesnโt matter what it is, thereโs a pattern there.
And thatโs dangerous. Iโd like to have someone with gravitas, but he got there through the electoral college which is part of our system, and I hope he does some good things.
I just, there was a young lady on TV today who said โI just wished he had gone up and said something like, โAnd I know I said certain things …,โ or, โYou know I would really like to bring the people who donโt feel …,โ or, โI know some of you are scared.โ But he canโt do that because bullies donโt do that. Thatโs why.โ
Paul M. Banks is the Founding Editor of The Sports Bank. Heโs also the author of โTransatlantic Passage: How the English Premier League Redefined Soccer in America,โ and โNo, I Canโt Get You Free Tickets: Lessons Learned From a Life in the Sports Media Industry.โ
He currently contributes to USA Todayโs NFL Wires Network, the Internet Baseball Writers Association of America and RG.org. His past bylines include the New York Daily News, Sports Illustrated and the Chicago Tribune. His work has been featured in numerous outlets, including the Wall Street Journal, Forbes, the Washington Post and ESPN. You can follow him on Linked In and Twitter.
