San Antonio Spurs coach Gregg Popovich praised Austin, Texas, last week for reducing police funding and added that he hopes his hometown of San Antonio, Texas, declares racism a public health crisis in the coming weeks.
Popovich started his final pre-game media interview on Thursday while wearing a shirt that read, “Vote, your life depends on it,” and discussed voter suppression and ways to defeat racism despite President Trump being “obviously racist by any measure.”
“I think that’s the key, very frankly,” he said of San Antonio potentially declaring racism a public health crisis. “Obviously nothing’s happening from the top, we have a president who is obviously racist by any measure, so the local grassroots politicians have to take the lead, and I’m thrilled at the notion of the two actions that have just been taken.”
The San Antonio City Council is slated to vote on a resolution declaring racism a public health crisis in the city, and to commit “to advocating for racial justice as a core element of all policies, programs, and procedures.”
“All the systemic racism we talk about is still there because all we’ve done is talk about it for so long, and nothing has really happened,” Popovich said. “Or we’ve taken a step forward and two steps back, but to act the way you just described in San Antonio, I hope, and in Austin is the way that we have to do this. People will get it done.”
The Austin City Council voted last week to cut the police department budget by $150 million, or by about one-third of its overall budget.
Popovich also discussed the lynching of Lamar Smith, a black man who was killed in 1955 for registering black voters, during his interview in Orlando.
“I just want to bring that up as a reminder to everybody that this fight has been going on for a long time, and we can’t let people who want to suppress the vote win the day,” he said.
“Some people talk about getting tired of hearing about it, but that’s the point: It has to change, and we have to act,” he added.
Popovich has made his dislike for Trump public in recent months, calling him “deranged” in June following the death of George Floyd.
“It’s unbelievable,” Popovich said. “If Trump had a brain, even if it was 99% cynical, he would come out and say something to unify people. But he doesn’t care about bringing people together. Even now. That’s how deranged he is. It’s all about him. It’s all about what benefits him personally. It’s never about the greater good. And that’s all he’s ever been.”
