Golden State Warriors coach Steve Kerr said he would seriously vote for San Antonio Spurs coach Gregg Popovich, if he were to ever run for president.
Kerr told reporters Wednesday that he wasn’t kidding.
“I would truly vote for Pop. He would make a great president,” Kerr said. “All jokes aside, I would vote for him.”
Kerr also discussed Popovich on the podcast “Pod Save America” in an interview with former White House communications director and Barack Obama adviser Dan Pfeiffer. As a player, Kerr played under the Spurs coach in two different stints from 1998-2001 and 2002-2003.
Popovich has been an outspoken critic of President Trump, most recently calling him a “soulless coward” in October.
“He’s one of the finest people I know because he’s incredibly principled,” Kerr said of Popovich. “He’s competitive. He’s compassionate. He’s smart. He’s worldly. He’s fair. You felt all that as a coach, and now you see his convictions in his comments about the world and about politics. It’s real, and it’s genuine.”
Kerr has also spoken out against the president.
Last month, Trump announced he would not be extending a White House invite to the NBA champion Warriors. Kerr said while no decision had been made, the team was leaning on not going anyway.
As for Popovich, Kerr didn’t think the 68-year-old coach would ever run for office.
“At his core, he’s a basketball coach and a lifer,” Kerr said. “He’s been doing it 20 years. He loves it, he’s great at it. I don’t know why he would stop.”
• Matthew Paras can be reached at mparas@washingtontimes.com.
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