Spurs Coach Popovich Rips Texas Governor and Lieutenant as 'Cowards' for COVID-19 Response

During a Wednesday video call with reporters, Spurs coach Gregg Popovich expanded his list of political targets beyond President Trump, blasting Texas' GOP leaders as "cowards" for their handling of the pandemic.

Speaking from the Orlando, where NBA teams are playing out the remainder of this season, Pop said the safety in the "bubble" stands in sharp contrast to Texas, where "nobody knows what the hell's going on."

The San Antonio coach first took aim at arch-conservative Lt. Gov. Dan Patrick, who recently blasted the nation's top infectious disease expert, Dr. Anthony Fauci, during a Fox News appearance.

"We have a lieutenant governor who decided he doesn’t want to listen to Fauci and those people any more,” said Popovich, who wore a black “Vote: your life depends on it” T-shirt. “That makes a lot of sense. How safe can that be? The messaging is ridiculous."

Then he shifted his sights to Gov. Greg Abbott, accusing the Republican of delivering mixed messages as he reopened the state.

“The governor goes back and forth based on whether he has to satisfy Trump or listen to the numbers — politics show maybe he better do this because the virus has done that," he said. "But no overall policy, no principle. It’s all about politics. It’s all about what’s good for them, and ‘them’ means Trump. Because they’re all cowards, and they’re all afraid.”

“We’ve been all over the map in Texas, nobody knows what the hell is going on. We have a Lt. Gov. who decided he doesn’t want to listen to Fauci and those people anymore”

Gregg Popovich shared some thoughts about state and federal leadership on coronavirus pic.twitter.com/XiMQcunE6y

— Tom Petrini (@RealTomPetrini) July 16, 2020

If this is what Pop says before the season shifts to a full restart, stay tuned for real verbal fireworks once the games get underway.

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