We don’t know whether Gregg Popovich held his last pregame press conference Sunday, because he unsurprisingly brushed away questions about his rumored retirement. But if that was the final time the legendary head coach will ever address reporters before tip-off, it ended on a fitting and poignant note.
In recent years, Popovich, who often snarls at halftime interviews and other media formalities, has become one of the country’s most outspoken advocates for gun control. While he probably won’t answer questions about injuries or in-game adjustments, he will blast lawmakers for their odious inaction after mass shootings.
That was the case Sunday, when Popovich called out multiple Republican legislators, including Tennessee Sen. Marsha Blackburn and Gov. Bll Lee, both of whom offered empty thoughts and prayers following last month’s shooting at a Nashville-area school that left six people dead.
“Senator Marsha Blackburn, her comment after was, after the massacre, ‘My office is in contact with federal, state and local officials and we stand ready to assist,” he said. “In what?! They’re dead! What are you going to assist with? Cleaning up their brains off the wall? Wiping the blood off the school room floor? What are you going to assist with?”
Popovich wasn’t any kinder towards Lee, who has successfully pushed for adults in Tennessee to be able to carry firearms in public without a permit.
“Then there’s Governor Lee. I’m sorry to go on and on, but Bill Lee, ‘I’m closely monitoring the tragic situation. Please join us in prayer.’ What are you monitoring? They’re dead! Children, they’re dead,” he said.
At the end of what might be his last pregame media availability, Gregg Popovich asked if any of the reporters had brought guns into the arena, then had so e things to say about lack of gun control regulation in Tennessee and, well, everywhere in the U.S. pic.twitter.com/a6DQtAqxMy
— Brad Townsend (@townbrad) April 9, 2023
More Popovich. pic.twitter.com/rDknUTsC2b
— Brad Townsend (@townbrad) April 9, 2023
Popovich was similarly scathing last year towards Texas lawmakers following the mass shooting at an elementary school in Uvalde that claimed 21 lives.
While cynics dismiss Popovich’s political comments as grandstanding, his strong statements are actually quite important, and cap his legacy. We are in a new era of political cowardice across pro sports, with the NHL’s continued Pride Night debacles serving as the latest example. Teams are so afraid of backlash, they cover for players who refuse to wear Pride warmup jerseys on Pride Night.
Yet, in deep-red Texas, Popovich continues to strongly advocate for gun control and racial inequity. He constantly sparred with Donald Trump, even though Trump carried Texas by nine points.
With five NBA championships on his resume, it’s obviously far easier for the 74-year-old Popovich to be outspoken about polarizing political issues than, say, a rookie head coach like Utah’s Will Hardy.
But that doesn’t make his candor any less significant. There are plenty of decorated coaches across sports who don’t use their platform to make any remarks of note.
For more than nine minutes Sunday, Popovich used his Hall of Fame platform to rip lawmakers who show political ambivalence towards kids being massacred at school. That’s worth more than any pregame injury update.
