Nelson Chenault-USA TODAY Sports

Gregg Popovich With A Perfect Response To A Players Protest Question

We all know Gregg Popovich never minces his words, that’s one of the reasons why we love him. During media day, he was asked about some of his players possibly protesting the anthem in some kind of way, like Colin Kaepernick and various other NFL players have done, and his response is perfect:

“My players are engaged citizens who are fully capable of understanding what their values are, what they think is appropriate and inappropriate, what they feel strongly about, and whatever actions may or may not be taken are their decisions. And I’m not going to tell anyone ahead of time that if they don’t do A, B and C, they’re going to be gone or traded. I think that’s ignorant.”

When asked if he agreed with Kaepernick’s way of protesting, he answered:

“I think each his own. I think it depends on a person’s life experience, what they value and how strongly they feel about it. I don’t think instant condemnation of any act should happen until it’s thought out. For instance with Kaepernick, a pretty good group of people thought he was disrespecting the military. That had nothing to do with his protest. In fact, he was able to do what he did because of what the military does for us. Most thinking people understand that, but there’s always going to be an element that wants to jump on a bandwagon. And that’s what’s unfortunate about our country. It’s gotten to the point where the civility and level of discourse is basically in the gutter.”

I completely agree with Popovich’s approach. He’s not only a great coach, but also a great human being.

Asked if he would support his players should they protest, Popoivch's response…. #Spurs pic.twitter.com/zxzqyyGeeU

— Jabari Young (@JabariJYoung) September 26, 2016