After surpassing the record for most wins with a single franchise in NBA history (1,128 wins), one would think the subtle San Antonio Spurs coach would rather focus on his accomplishments instead of answering questions about Black History Month. As we have seen in the past, any question coach Popovich feels is a dumb question or lacks substance usually ends up unanswered and unbothered. However, this is certainly not the case when Gregg Popovich is asked questions about this country’s current state. You see, the scrupulous coach Popovich has been using his platform to truly make people think analytically about race relations in this country. Personally, to see someone of another race speak so eloquently & accurately on Black History Month makes us question people like Steve Harvey, Floyd Mayweather & Lil Wayne even more because of their obvious lack of sense pertaining to race relations in America. Below is an excerpt from SB Nation of Gregg Popovich answering a question about Black History month and what it means to him!
[SB Nation Excerpt]:
“Well, it’s a remembrance, and a bit of a celebration in some ways. It sounds odd because we’re not there yet, but it’s always important to remember what has passed and what is being experienced now by the black population. It’s a celebration of some of the good things that have happened, and a reminder that there’s a lot more work to do.
“But more than anything, I think if people take the time to think about it, I think it is our national sin. It always intrigues me when people come out with, ‘I’m tired of talking about that,’ or, ‘Do we have to talk about race again?’ And the answer is, ‘You’re damned right we do.’”
“Because it’s always there, and it’s systemic, in the sense that when you talk about opportunity, it’s not about, ‘Well, if you lace up your shoes and you work hard, then you can have the American dream.’ That’s a bunch of hogwash.
“If you were born white, you automatically have a monstrous advantage — educationally, economically, culturally, in this society and all the systemic roadblocks that exist, whether it’s in a judicial sense, a neighborhood sense with laws, zoning, education. We have huge problems in that regard that are very complicated, but take leadership, time, and real concern to try to solve. It’s a tough one because people don’t really want to face it.”
“And it’s in our national discourse. We have a president of the United States who spent four or five years disparaging and trying to [delegitimize] our president. And we know that was a big fake. But still, [he] felt for some reason it had to be done. I can still remember a paraphrase close to a quote ‘investigators were sent to Hawaii and you cannot believe what they found.’ Well, that was a lie. So if it’s being discussed and perpetrated at that level, you’ve got a national problem.”
God Bless you Gregg Pop and the many others who help use their platform to truly facilitate the analytical thinking required to tear down such systemic oppression faced by millions of Americans daily!
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