Popovich challenges owners’ politics
Reacting to the latest tragedy in Minneapolis, an emotional Gregg Popovich on Monday called out NBA owners who support elected officials that oppose legislation seeking to curb gun violence and efforts to reform police and controversial tactics they employ.
“Do these people want a country or not?” the Spurs coach said of the politicians. “Do they want their grandchildren to go to work and school and go through these drills and worry about being murdered? What does it take to care more about them than your fricking position and your power and your donors?
“And with policing, it’s the same damn way. How many young Black kids have to be killed for no fricking reason? How many? So that we can empower the police units? We need to find out who funds these people. I want to know what owners in the NBA fund these people who perpetrate these lies. Maybe that’s a good place to start, so it’s all transparent.”
Popovich’s comments put him at odds with members of the Spurs ownership group who have made contributions to Republican politicians, including former President Donald Trump, who has said he does not support the Black Lives Matter movement and does not believe in the existence of systemic racism.
“The people who continually fight to maintain the status quo are not good people. … It’s deplorable,” said Popovich, who also blasted politicians who support what he called the “big lie” that Trump won the 2020 election over Joe Biden.
Federal Election Commission records show NBA owners made $14.9 million in donations to Republican politicians overall since the 2020 election cycle started in 2019, the Ringer reported in September.
Five NBA owners contributed directly to Trump: the Spurs’ Julianna Hawn Holt, Los Angeles Lakers’ Jim Buss, Orlando Magic’s Dan Devos, New York Knicks’ James Dolan and Houston Rockets’ Tilman Fertitta. Over the past five years, the Spurs’ owners — Julianna Holt, Peter Holt, and Corinna Holt Richter — have contributed more than $1.4 million, 99.9 percent to Republicans, including more than $500,000 to Trump, the Ringer reported.
Of the 10 owners who have donated the most money to politicians since 2015, seven directed more than 75 percent of their contributions to Republicans, including the Holt family, according to the Ringer.
Popovich’s comments came shortly after the NBA announced it had postponed the game between the Minnesota Timberwolves and Brooklyn Nets in the wake of the police shooting of Daunte Wright on Sunday night in the Minneapolis suburb of Brooklyn Center.
Wright, a 20-year-old Black man, was allegedly shot and killed by a police officer during a traffic stop.
Brooklyn Center Police Chief Tim Gannon described the shooting death as an “accidental discharge” that occurred while police tried to arrest Wright on an outstanding warrant, the Associated Press reported.
The police officer who allegedly shot Wright intended to fire a Taser, not a handgun, as the man struggled with police, Gannon said Monday, per the Associated Press.
The shooting sparked violent protests in an area already tense because of the trial of the first of four police officers charged in George Floyd’s death last May.
“It just makes you sick to your stomach,” Popovich said. “How many times does it have to happen? But as sick to our stomachs as we might feel, that individual is dead. He’s dead and his family is grieving and his friends are grieving, and we just keep moving on as if nothing is happening.”
‘Flash’ Walker brings energy in Dallas
Demar Derozan likened Lonnie Walker IV to a comic book superhero after the swingman’s performance off the bench in the Spurs’ 119-117 road win over the Mavericks on Sunday night.
In just his second game back after missing nine in a row with a sore right wrist, Walker scored 13 points on 5-of-8 shooting from the field (2 of 3 from 3-point range) in 20 minutes.
“He is kind of like Flash,” Derozan said of Walker, who also had three rebounds and one block. “He can be all over the place, offensively, defensively, and he always can spark something to give us the energy we need.”
Walker’s “spark” in Dallas came courtesy of a thundering, one-handed dunk in transition over Nicolo Melli after Patty Mills intercepted a Luka Doncic pass. Walker took flight from just inside the free-throw line without a dribble after Mills fed him the ball at the top of the key.
Melli fouled on the play, allowing Walker to sink a free throw to complete an old-fashioned 3-point play that gave the Spurs an 86-83 lead with 1:08 left in the third quarter.
“That could be a candidate for dunk of the year,” Spurs TV analyst Sean Elliott said on the air.
The players on the Spurs’ bench jumped out of their seats as Walker threw down the dunk. Keldon Johnson playfully put his hands over the eyes of Tre Jones as if to say, “This is too vicious for you to see, rookie.”
Derozan called the spectacular dunk a “prime example of what Lonnie can do for this team.”