San Antonio Spurs head coach Gregg Popovich spoke in depth about LeBron James, his role for minority youth in America, and even compared him to the recent Black Panther movie before his team played the Cleveland Cavaliers on Sunday afternoon. James, who was recently told to “shut up and dribble” by a Fox News host, has been one of the league’s most outspoken leaders about issues on and off the court.
Popovich has also recently become famous for his thoughtful and intelligent comments on difficult topics, including race and politics in this country. Though the crotchety 69-year-old may not talk much during sideline interviews, he frequently opens up about issues like this.
“We should all be very proud that we have somebody like that who’s willing to speak about a variety of topics (like LeBron),” Popovich said on Sunday.
And here’s his full quote, courtesy of Bleacher Report’s Greg Swartz.
When I heard about the (Fox News host’s comments) it was an unbelievable show of arrogance for a talking head to try and tell someone else if they can speak, what they can speak about, when and where to do it. It’s just ludicrous. To not have a feel for who this guy is, think about when he came into the public view, how young was he? To this day he hasn’t missed a step, he hasn’t fallen off the edge, he’s been a brilliant example for millions of kids. Especially kids of lesser opportunities who haven’t had the same advantages of others. They see in this guy someone who’s consistently exhibited excellence in the workplace and it gives them a voice, let’s them know that you can speak about anything. There really is a first amendment and I can have opinions. As a coach, as a plumber, as an astrophysicist, as a lowly reporter. I can have whatever opinions I want and that’s what’s amazing about this when you look at this guy.
How many tens of millions of dollars he’s given, tens of millions of kids that see him and are inspired by him? It’s kind of like the Black Panther movie. How cool is that for kids to see and have that superhero? LeBron’s been that for a long time. And for someone to be totally numb to that and attack him in such a childish way really speaks more volumes about that individual that it does LeBron. He’s very, very special and we should all be very proud that we have somebody like that who’s willing to speak about a variety of topics.
Popovich previously talked about rich people and their duty towards charity, what Martin Luther King Jr. meant and still means to this country, and frequently about President Donald Trump.
