Gregg Popovich Explains Support for Beto O'Rourke

The San Antonio Spurs have had the pleasure of hosting head coach Gregg Popovich, arguably the greatest in the NBA, over the past two decades. He's smug, he doesn't take bullshit, dislikes talking to reporters, and uses his airtime to condemn the president's misogyny, xenophobia, and response to gun violence in one of the reddest states in the nation. 

Days before this year's consequential midterm elections, the Spurs head coach spoke to his political beliefs by sporting the same Beto O'Rourke hat LeBron James wore before playing against San Antonio in October. O'Rourke, the charismatic U.S. Representative from El Paso, TX, is challenging Senator Ted Cruz in one of the country's closely watched Senate races. 

However, Pop's commentary didn't stop at his trucker hat. On Saturday night, before facing off against the New Orleans Pelicans, Popovich explained to reporters why he's voting for Beto and criticized the inflammatory tactics Cruz shamefully embraces. “You get so tired of all the lies and the divisiveness and the fear-mongering and the race-baiting. It just diminishes all of us,” he said, according to Project Spurs. “It makes all of us feel strange, and when I think of Beto, or I listen to what he says, I feel like what I thought an American is supposed to be. He’s classy. He’s intelligent. He’s civil.”

Pop went on to explain that Beto has visited every one of the 254 counties in Texas during the campaign, proving that he genuinely cares about "all the people." After praising Beto's character and championing his candidacy, Pop shifted gears to take aim at Cruz. "When people are so desperate as is his opponent, that scares me. To do what Mr. Cruz has done to try to get elected is very scary. That’s about self. That’s not about the rest of us. And Beto is the exact opposite of that, and that’s why I think he is great."