San Antonio Spurs Head Coach Gregg Popovich has always done a great job in always being vocal about social justice issues in our countries such as racism and police brutality. He also continues to voice his support for the Black Lives Matter movement since the murder of George Floyd in Minneapolis in May. He understands white privilege is also real and sadly, too many people don’t understand why the BLM movement is here and the messages that it has rightfully been conveying.
Popovich has spoken to reporters via video call and discussed the NBA’s return to play in the Orlando bubble along with these issues that continue to be a problem in America which have resulted in nationwide protests.
“It’s no different for me than it is to anybody else who cares about justice and who can be empathetic to the fact that justice has been denied to a group of people for far too long. And enough is enough.” (Via Brad Townsend of the Dallas Morning News)
Gregg Popovich on Black Lives Matter:
“It’s no different for me than it is for anybody else who cares about justice, and who can be empathetic to the fact that justice has been denied to a group of people for far too long.”
He says people offended by that are ignorant. pic.twitter.com/TestJ4fMvX
— Tom Petrini (@RealTomPetrini) July 25, 2020
“Everybody’s tired of it, especially the group that has been degraded and savaged for so long. People who don’t understand Black Lives Matter or are offended by it are just ignorant.”
Earlier this month, Popovich also expressed how comfortable he was being in the bubble compared to Texas, which has had a huge COVID-19 outbreak.
“If this bubble works, I’m safer here than I would be in Texas,” Popovich said. “And since the decision was made to do this to start the season again, under these circumstances, with all the precautions, what a great opportunity.”
The NBA as a whole have done an amazing job inside the bubble of addressing racism and police brutality. Players such as Mike Scott and Tobias Harris of the Philadelphia 76ers have used their media availability to make it known that the Louisville police officers who shot and killed Breonna Taylor still need to be arrested and charged. This comes in the midst of protests that are still ongoing in Louisville where she was murdered as people are anxiously waiting for action to be taken.
The WNBA used their platform during this past weekend with their opening games to tackle these issues and dedicate their seasons to Breonna Taylor and other female victims of police brutality as well. The Seattle Storm and New York Liberty also walked off the court during the national anthem. Teams have also been wearing Breonna Taylor’s name under their names on the back of their jerseys. NBA players also have options to wear social justice words on theirs when the season resumes on July 30.
