Gregg Popovich says the US has become 'an embarrassment to the world' in speech slamming Trump and w
Gregg Popovich has once again criticized President Donald Trump, saying the country has become "an embarrassment to the world"
Popovich spoke at Media Day for the San Antonio Spurs on Monday and was asked about Trump's recent comments criticizing NFL players who sit or kneel during the national anthem.
In an uninterrupted seven-minute speech, Popovich slammed the president for being "delusional," for "gratuitous fear-mongering and race-baiting," for enabling people like NASCAR owners who would fire people or kick people out of the country for non-violent protests, and for lowering the reputation of the country to the point that the U.S. has become "an embarrassment to the world."
"I think [the NASCAR owners and others] have been enabled by an example that we have all been given and we have seen it in Charlottesville and on and on and on. That's not a surprise," Popovich said. "Our country is an embarrassment in the world."
"Obviously, race is the elephant in the room, and we all understand that, but unless it is talked about constantly, it is not going to get better," Popovich said. "People get bored. 'Oh, is it that again. He's pulling the race card again. Why do we have to talk about that?' Well, because it's uncomfortable and there has to be an uncomfortable element in the discourse for anything to change. Whether it's the LGBT movement or women's suffrage, it doesn't matter. People have to be made to feel uncomfortable, and especially white people, because we're comfortable. We still have no clue of what being born white means... It's hard to sit down and decide, yes, it's like you are at the 50-meter mark in a 100-meter dash. You've got that kind of a lead. Yes, because you were born white, you have advantages that are systemically, culturally, psychologically, there, and they have been built up and cemented for hundreds of years. but many people can't look at it. It's too difficult... People want to hold their position. They want the status quo. People don't want to give that up. And until it is given up, it's not going to be fixed."
http://www.businessinsider.com/gregg-popovich-trump-anthem-protests-2017-9