Rob Foldy/Getty Images(SAN ANTONIO) — One day after Detroit Pistons head coach Stan Van Gundy expressed his frustration with the results of the presidential election, San Antonio Spurs head coach Gregg Popovich lent his voice to the subject.
“I’m still sick to my stomach,” the next U.S. Men’s Basketball National Team coach said. “And not basically because the Republicans won or anything, but the disgusting tenor, tone and all the comments that have been xenophobic, homophobic, racist, misogynistic.” He spoke to the media before his team’s game against the Pistons, responding to a question from a reporter who said that those who feel down following the election may look to Popovich — who has a penchant for being blunt and honest.
“It’s got nothing to do with the environment, Obamacare and all the other stuff,” he said. “We live in a country that ignored all those values that we would hold our kids accountable for.”
Popovich spoke for nearly six minutes, expressing frustration with the tone of President-elect Donald Trump’s tone during the campaign and expressing empathy for groups who may feel adversely affected by his remarks and his having won the election.
“What gets lost in the process are African-Americans, Hispanics, women and the gay population, not to mention the eighth-grade developmental stage exhibited by him when he made fun of the handicapped person,” he said. “I mean, come on. That’s what an eighth-grade bully does, and he was elected president of the United States. We would have scolded our kids. We would have had discussions and talked until we were blue in the face trying to get them to understand these things. And he is in charge of our country. That’s disgusting.”
When a reporter attempted to start a new line of questioning, Popovich stopped him, saying he wasn’t done responding.
“I’m a rich, white guy. And I’m sick to my stomach thinking about it. I couldn’t imagine being a Muslim right now or a woman or an African-American, a Hispanic, a handicapped person, and how disenfranchised they might feel. And for anyone in those groups that voted for him, it’s just beyond my comprehension how they ignored all that,” Popovich explained.
The five-time NBA Champion and three-time NBA Coach of the Year ended his rant by saying that he feared the U.S. could be on the same path as a famous fallen empire. “My final conclusion is, my big fear is, we are Rome,” he said.
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