Gregg Popovich is undoubtedly one of the most influential and revered people in San Antonio. As the coach of the city's only professional sports franchise, he's guided the Spurs to five NBA titles and 16 consecutive 50-win seasons since taking over in 1996.
So, naturally, a citizen of the greater San Antonio area thought it was a great idea to honor their beloved Pop by potentially renaming a local high school after him.
According to mysa.com, Emmanuel Casasola, a 2002 graduate of the local Robert E. Lee High School, started an online petition to help get his alma mater renamed due to the controversial nature of having anything associated with the former Confederacy. Popovich, he reasons, is more than deserving of the honor.
“I know this may come off as a joke, but I am being completely serious. He is loved and revered all over the country as the best coach in all of sports and one of the greatest coaches of all time. He started his NBA coaching career in San Antonio with Larry Brown and except for a few years when he went to Golden State, he has been in San Antonio ever since. He has been instrumental in creating an organizational culture in the Spurs which is the envy of the entire NBA. His capacity for leadership, personnel development, and work ethic should be something we teach our kids to strive for and should be honored.”
When Popovich was told of Casasola's suggestion, he responded in typical Pop fashion, calling the petition "absolutely ridiculous."
“You got to be kidding. Are you serious? I would hope that you would use all your muscle or whatever you have to squash that ridiculous idea as soon as humanly possible. Can you please do that for me? Squash that ridiculous idea right now. That is laughable.”
Casasola has already surpassed his goal of reaching 1,000 signatures.
[h/t/ FTW]
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