Gregg Popovich, who is currently with Team USA at its training camp in California, said that former San Francisco 49ers quarterback Colin Kaepernick had done an excellent job of bringing light to social justice and racial inequality. The San Antonio Spurs head coach said that what Kaepernick did “was a very patriotic thing.”
Gregg Popovich on Colin Kaepernick: "He cared about his country enough to fix some things that were obvious, that everybody knows about but does nothing about" https://t.co/kVeenth3lp
— Sports Illustrated (@SInow) August 14, 2019
Popovich already spoke numerous times in the past about Kaepernick, who drew national attention in 2016 when he knelt during the national anthem before games in order to protest police brutality and racial oppression.
“Patriotism means a lot of things to different people,” Popovich said. “There’s people who are truly committed in that sense and people who are fake. The show of patriotism I think is a bit inappropriate and that is not something that I think we want to emulate. Because someone hugs a flag doesn’t mean they’re patriotic. Being a patriot is somebody that respects their country and understands that the best thing about our country is that we have the ability to fix things that have not come to fruition for a lot of people so far.”
Popovich took an opportunity to praise Kaepernick, who hasn’t played in the NFL since 2016.
“To negate that part of what we’re able to do is ignorant on anybody’s part who tries to make those people look unpatriotic,” Popovich said. “Like a Kaepernick. That was a very patriotic thing he did. He cared about his country enough to fix some things that were obvious, that everybody knows about but does nothing about.”
Popovich was also asked about Serbia national team head coach Aleksandar “Sasha” Djordjevic’s comments about potentially facing Team USA in the upcoming World Cup.
“You’ll have to ask Sasha,” Popovich said. “I don’t really pay attention too much. I’ve been doing this too long. But he’s a hell of a coach. He’s a competitor, and he’s been a hero in Europe as a player. He was fantastic, and they have a program that goes way back with a lot of success.
“They do have a heck of a team. There is no doubt about that. They’re deep and talented, and they are going to work their fannies off. They want to win just like anybody else. People will talk, but that is usually not something I respond to.”
