Coach Gregg Popovich’s comments came as the Spurs prepared to play their first game of the “I-35 Series” Thursday in Austin. Credit: Facebook / San Antonio Spurs

San Antonio Spurs Head Coach Gregg Popovich called the Second Amendment a “myth” and called for politicians to do more to prevent school shootings during a fiery pre-game press conference in Dallas on Sunday.

Popovich’s remarks, made before the Spurs’ 138-117 win against the Dallas Mavericks.

Popovich began his monologue — posted on Twitter by Dallas Morning News sports reporter Brad Townsend — by citing a quote from Tennessee Sen. Marsha Balckburn following the mass shooting in Nashville two weeks ago, in which she said that her office and other government agencies were “ready to assist.”

“In what?” Popovich asked. “They’re dead. What are you going to assist with? Cleaning up their brains off the wall? Wiping the blood off the schoolroom floor? What are you going to assist with?”

The NBA coach continued, adding that he worries about the safety of his grandchildren when they’re dropped off at school.

“Most of you in this room, when we were in school, we worried if Nancy would dance with us on Friday after the football game or something,” he said. “That was our anxiety.”

The coach’s condemnation of lax gun laws came hours before a disgruntled employee walked into the Old National Bank building in downtown Louisville on Monday and opened fire, killing at least 4 and injuring 8, according to CNN.

The shooting in Louisville is the nation’s second mass shooting in two weeks.

Popovich went on to say that the Second Amendment is a “myth” used by gun lobbyists.

“I mean, that’s freedom,” Popovich said. “Is it freedom for kids to go to school and try to socialize and try to learn and be scared to death that they might die that day?”

Popovich still hasn’t said whether or not he’ll retire, meaning that his remarks on Sunday could be among the last press conferences he holds as the Spurs’ head coach.

The Spurs edited out Popovich’s gun control comments from the press conference video uploaded on the team’s official YouTube account.

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This article appears in Apr 5-18, 2023.

Michael Karlis is a multimedia journalist at the San Antonio Current, whose coverage in print and on social media focuses on local and state politics. He is a graduate of American University in Washington,...