Gregg Popovich spoke at the “Stand with Uvalde” benefit rally in San Antonio on Saturday, and the longtime Spurs coach slammed Texas and U.S. lawmakers who don’t support gun control legislation.
The rally was held to support the families of the shooting victims as well as to advocate for “common sense” reforms. The school shooting at Robb Elementary School on May 24 ended with 19 students and two teachers dead.
“We’ve heard all the comments on television from some of our government officials about thoughts and prayers and condolences and on and on and on,” Popovich said. “They’re the same statements after every massacre, exactly the same, and it never changes, and more children are dead and more teachers and more civilians dead.”
Popovich specifically criticized Republican politicians — especially old, White men — for their gun control positions. Popovich, who is White and 73 years old, said those politicians are “selfish.”
“I’m sick and tired of 50- and 60- and 70-year-old White men screwing up all of our lives because they’re selfish and really care about nothing else but their position,” Popovich said. “They’ll say that’s unpatriotic or mean. No, it’s freaking true.”
Coach Popovich talked about @tedcruz and mentioned that this current government uses “mental health” as an excuse for these massacres, but says their actions contradict that. He brought up how @GregAbbott_TX slashed $21 million from the department that oversees mental health pic.twitter.com/NUONQohq8m
— Jose Arredondo (@sportsguyjose) June 4, 2022
Popovich’s speech went viral on social media Saturday. The five-time NBA champion head coach frequently comments on current events and social justice initiatives. In 2019, Popovich said Colin Kaepernick’s kneeling protest during the national anthem was “very patriotic.”
Popovich defended Texas gubernatorial candidate Beto O’Rourke, a Democrat, for interrupting Texas Gov. Greg Abbott during a press conference last week. He also criticized Texas Sen. Ted Cruz, a Republican, for his focus on mental health rather than gun control.
“They think we’re stupid. People like Ted Cruz, this is an intelligent man. No, he is. We know that. He’s a Harvard grad. He’s no dummy. But he thinks we’re dummies,” Popovich said. “So he’s going to tell us that all the bad things that happen are because of mental illness. Now, that’s part of it. But if it’s true that mental illness is important, then why did this government in Texas slash the budget for mental illness?”
• Jacob Calvin Meyer can be reached at jmeyer@washingtontimes.com.
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