The San Antonio Spurs's politically-charged coach Gregg Popovich played the "C" word again Wednesday, calling President Donald Trump, Texas Gov. Greg Abbott (R) and Texas Lt. Gov. Dan Patrick (R) politically-obsessed cowards for their handling of the coronavirus. Popovich has frequently referred to the President as a coward.
During a video conference with reporters Wednesday from the NBA "Bubble" at Disney World in Orlando, Popovich blathered away, not about the NBA's impending return, but by venturing down political lane.
"We’ve been all over the map in Texas. Nobody knows what the hell is going on," Popovich (seen above in file photo) said.
According to Pop, the Texas response to the pandemic is all about politics: "It’s all about what’s good for them. And ‘them’ means Trump. Because they’re all cowards and they’re all afraid.”
John C. Moritz, from the Austin Bureau of the USA Today Network, wrote that Popovich said Abbott had been vacillating in his efforts to slow the spread of COVID-19 in Texas. Lt. Gov. Patrick was also accused of undermining the efforts of Dr. Anthony Fauci, director of the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases:
“The governor goes back and forth based on whether he has to satisfy Trump or listen to the numbers. Politics show maybe he better do this because the virus has done that. But no overall policy, no principle. It’s all about politics."
Appearing recently on Fox News, Patrick said Dr. Fauci "doesn't know what he's talking about" and "has been wrong every time on every issue."
Moritz said Popovich frequently weighs in political matters (you don't say!) and called Popovich's response to Patrick's criticism of Dr. Fauci "caustic." Popovich said, sarcastically:
We have a lieutenant governor who decided he doesn’t want to listen to [Anthony] Fauci and those people any more. That makes a lot of sense. How safe can that be? The messaging is ridiculous.
Moritz didn't tell the whole story though. Nor did he include Patrick's entire statement about the coronavirus. Patrick talked about individual states knowing what's best for them, as opposed to centralized government dictating one size that fits all states. A story on The Hill by Morgan Gstalter included the whole quote:
We’ll listen to a lot of science, we’ll listen to a lot of doctors, and Greg and myself and other state leaders will make the decision. No thank you, Dr. Fauci.
Though Texas has caught heat from the media for re-opening and a surge in COVID19 cases and deaths, the state has one of the nation's lowest per capita death rates with 13.
Since his team's losing ways went on hold with the suspension of the NBA season in March, Popovich has popped off plenty. He's one of the NBA's leading social commentary go-to guys and recently said: "Our country is in trouble and the basic reason is race." He's also "embarrassed to be a white person."
While speaking to the reporters on the video call, Popovich wore a shirt that read: “Vote — Your Life Depends On It.” He definitely won't be voting for the Trump-Pence ticket.
