Normally the coaches of really bad professional sports teams take a beating from the press. Not so when one of those coaches deflects attention by taking shots at a Republican president. Take San Antonio Spurs Coach Gregg Popovich, an ardent Trump hater. His team is one of the worst in the NBA this season, having lost eight consecutive games ... and he's getting a pass from Yahoo! Sports contributor Ryan Young by turning the focus on President Donald Trump.
Young thought it was hilarious Friday night when Popovich (appearing in file photo) deflected attention away from his team's horrible 5-11 record by impersonating President Donald Trump.
"Though it’s still early in the season, San Antonio’s 22-year postseason streak is very clearly at risk," Young writes. "Gregg Popovich, though, isn’t having it. When asked about his team’s losing streak on Friday, the Spurs’ head coach broke out his best impression of President Donald Trump in his hilarious response."
Two years ago Popovich called Trump a "soulless coward," and his remarks Friday night cast the president as a denier of obvious truth and "fake news" fanatic:
“Are you trying to infer this is a difficult time for us?” Popovich asked Mike Finger of the San Antonio Express-News.
“I am,” Finger replied.
“That’s bulls--t. We’re kickin’ ass,” Popovich said. “Jeez. Fake news. The man was right, fake news.'
“I’m just going to explicitly say this seems to be a difficult time for you,” Finger then said.
“It’s a conspiracy theory. Whoever started the rumor that we’re losing these games, it didn’t happen,” Popovich fired back, clearly joking. 'It’s not true … It’s a witch hunt. I see intrigue, I see treasonous behavior. I see spies. They’re all sick, all those people saying that. Scum.' ”
Popovich and Steve Kerr, coach of the NBA-worst Golden State Warriors, are both major critics of Trump and frequently speak out against him, Young writes.
"While he used Trump’s frequent fake news” response and deflected in a way that only the president can on Friday, Popovich is fully aware of the struggles his team is going through.
"Clearly, though, the longtime coach is still having fun with it," the amused Young adds.
Popovich was already on record saying in 2017, "I’ve been amazed and disappointed by so much of what this President had said, and his approach to running this country, which seems to be one of just a never ending divisiveness. ... This man in the Oval Office is a soulless coward who thinks that he can only become large by belittling others."
The Spurs coach also compared Trump to a “seventh-grade, eighth-grade bully." He's perfected the escape route for coaches who'd rather not talk about their team's poor play: just rip on Trump and you'll have reporters in the palm of your hand.
