It’s difficult to miss the leftist leanings of the NBA, be it the eagerness to curry favor from Communist China or the embrace of the Marxist-aligned Black Lives Matter movement, but few in the league are as extreme in their views as San Antonio Spurs coach Gregg Popovich — or at least as vocal.
The NBA is a player-controlled league, and Pops, as Popovich is known, was clear about where his loyalties lie when the hometown San Antonia crowd booed Los Angeles Clippers player Kawhi Leonard, who used to play for the Spurs before informing the team that he wanted to be traded. Not only did Pops lecture the crowd about the booing, sounding much like Barack Obama with his choice of rhetoric, but he snapped at a reporter after the game over the incident.
“Excuse me for a second. Can we stop all the booing and let these guys play?” Popovich said from the scorers’ table, upset with Leonard being booed every time he touched the ball. “It’s got no class, it’s not who we are. Knock off the booing!”
Gregg Popovich grabbed the PA mic while Kawhi Leonard was shooting FTs and asked the San Antonio faithful to stop booing.
Kawhi, who was supposed to be the centerpiece of the Spurs and extend their title-winning ways, was traded from San Antonio a little over 5 years ago. pic.twitter.com/WM8CSljxav
— Mary Rominger (@KSATMaryRom) November 23, 2023
That’s quite ballsy given that the average cost for a Spurs ticket at Frost Bank Center is $208, according to SeatGeek. Then again, that’s right up the alley for a liberal like Popovich.
“Well, I don’t believe I’ve ever seen that,” an affirmative action female announcer said.
“I’ve seen a number of college coaches motion to their crowds, particularly the student crowds if they’re cursing or whatever, or tell them and control them,” her colleague said. “But I don’t think I’ve seen that.”
Give the San Antonio crowd credit though, they seemed to boo even louder after the announcement when Leonard touched the ball.
When a reporter asked Pops about the incident at a post-game press conference, he stood by his words, “Anybody that knows anything about sports. you don’t poke the bear.”
“Anybody that knows anything about sports. You don’t poke the bear.”
Coach Gregg Popovich explains why he took the mic and told the fans to stop booing Kawhi.@spurs | #PorVida | :BSSW pic.twitter.com/inUUTzfqS8
— Bally Sports San Antonio (@BallySportsSA) November 23, 2023
Which means hometown fans shouldn’t taunt the opposition? It’s a nonsensical answer and when the reporter pressed, the head coach replied, “I just told you why I did it,”
After a moment of awkward silence, the reporter took another stab at it, “Can you clarify that, though?”
“I spoke English,” Popovich said. “I just told you! Anybody that knows anything about sports knows you don’t poke the bear. That’s my answer!”
Here’s a quick sampling of responses to the story, as seen on X:
I live in SA. Used to love the Spurs. Then Pop started talking lefty politics. He alienated the Republican, Trump supporting fan base. He is a pathetic joke at this point. He is a worthless coach and has no right to lecture fans who are paying $125 plus to watch a crappy team
— Buddy the Dog (@BuddyTheDogInSA) November 23, 2023
Anybody that knows anything about sports knows booing is apart of the game.
— SpursNation (@SpursNationYo) November 23, 2023
Who’s the bear, exactly? Because I’m my opinion, it’s the fans.
— Joshua James (@quantum_quality) November 23, 2023
If he doesn’t like fans, he should coach in the WNBA
— ChurchClothes (@ClothesChurch) November 23, 2023
I don’t think this is about “poking a bear”. Pop loves Kawhii and knows that they didn’t do right by him & I think he regrets it. He didn’t want people booing his boy…that simple. I will say that I’m VERY shocked by the Spurs fan base. I thought they had WAY more respect for…
— King Rei (@xKingRei) November 23, 2023
Hypocrite! He’s rude to those reporters which shows he has NO CLASS! He’s the only coach that treats the media with NO CLASS! He needs to STOP his rudeness!
— Raul R. Cortez (@raulcortez) November 23, 2023
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The longest-tenured writer at BizPac Review, Tom grew up in Maryland before moving to Central Florida as a young teen. It is in the Sunshine State that he honed both his passion for politics and his writing skills.
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