NBA coach Gregg Popovich says politicians ‘think we’re stupid’ and calls Second Amendment a ‘myth’
Popovich makes plea for stricter gun-control measures and says lawmakers use the Second Amendment as an excuse to do nothing
That was Gregg Popovich, head coach of the NBA’s San Antonio Spurs, talking about U.S. elected officials who use the Second Amendment as cover to not enact stricter gun-control measures.
“But they’re going to cloak all this stuff [in] the myth of the Second Amendment, the freedom,” Popovich said during his pregame media availability before the Spurs’ final game of the season. “You know, it’s just a myth. It’s a joke. It’s just a game they play. I mean, that’s freedom. Is it freedom for kids to go to school and try to socialize and try to learn and be scared to death that they might die that day?”
Popovich, 74, has been an outspoken critic of politicians in the U.S., most notably Donald Trump, over the past decade for not being tougher on guns.
The Second Amendment reads: “A well regulated Militia, being necessary to the security of a free State, the right of the people to keep and bear Arms, shall not be infringed.”
Popovich discussed various forms of gun control for roughly nine minutes before the Spurs’ final game, and he specifically called out the expulsion of Reps. Justin Jones and Justin Pearson from the Tennessee state legislature last week.
The two Black Democratic lawmakers were expelled by the majority Republic chamber in retaliation for their role in a protest the week before. That protest unfolded in the aftermath of a school shooting in Nashville in which killed six people were killed, including three students and three adults working at the school. The shooter was killed by police.
Popovich is also an proponent of other social issues and routinely advocates for causes like Black Lives Matter.
The Spurs, who play in Texas, which has more gun licenses than any state in the country, according to a study by the RAND Corporation. That has not stopped the coach from advocating for strict gun-control measures and taking shots at Texas elected officials.
“But Ted Cruz will fix it because he is going to double the number of cops in the schools. That’s what he wants to do. Well, that’ll create a great environment,” Popovich said in reference to the Republican senator from Texas. “Is that freedom? Or is it freedom to have a congressman who can make a postcard with all his family holding rifles, including an AR-15 or whatever. Is that cool? Is that like street cred for a Republican? That’s freedom? That’s more important than protecting kids? I don’t get it.”
Popovich added that members of both parties need to develop a better plan to address the issue of gun violence.
“You know, these people, they think we’re stupid — Republican and Democratic alike. But they might be right because they get away with that crap. They tell us things about prayers and, you know, their offices are monitoring this stuff, like I said. Get away from me. Stop all the bulls—. Stop talking down to us. We’re not stupid, but they will do it to keep their jobs,” he said.
Since his comments, another shooting has taken place in Louisville, Ky., where police say five people were killed and six others were taken to a hospital. The suspected shooter is dead.
Last summer, President Joe Biden and Congress passed the most sweeping gun bill in decades after a string of mass shootings, including the massacre of 19 students and two teachers at an elementary school in Uvalde, Texas, on May 24, 2022.
