The worlds of politics and sports continue to overlap as the NBA season draws near, and leave it to Spurs coach Gregg Popovich to articulate one of the more nuanced viewpoints on the divisive topic of the moment: athletes protesting the national anthem.
A few days after swatting the question away at a charity event, Pop came to Spurs Media Day prepared to address the “elephant in the room.” Here are his words, when asked whether or not he supports players like Colin Kaepernick who have recently protested the national anthem (you can find the entire transcript here):
“I absolutely understand why they’re doing what they’re doing, and I respect their courage for what they’ve done.