As most know, February in the United States has been designated as Black History Month. It is a time to remember the traditions and achievements of a minority group that has been oppressed for generations in this country.
The NBA has long promoted Black History Month as the vast majority of its players are African-American. More recently, the league has been in the forefront of social change whether it is regarding Black communities or police violence against the Black population.
No one in the NBA is more eloquent when discussing these tough issues than Gregg Popovich. The San Antonio Spurs head coach has been a champion of social justice and has never been one to mince words about the shortcomings of our society.
Pop was back at it again on Thursday when asked about the significance of Black History Month. As usual, he was intelligent, firm, and brutally honest in his assessment.
Listen: I asked Gregg Popovich what #blackhistorymonth means to him, and once again, he spoke #Spurs #NBA https://t.co/gH9urn2hYU
— Jabari Young (@JabariJYoung) February 3, 2017
Following transcribed by Tom Ziller of SB Nation:
“Well, it’s a remembrance, and a bit of a celebration in some ways. It sounds odd because we’re not there yet, but it’s always important to remember what has passed and what is being experienced now by the black population. It’s a celebration of some of the good things that have happened, and a reminder that there’s a lot more work to do.
“But more than anything, I think if people take the time to think about it, I think it is our national sin. It always intrigues me when people come out with, ‘I’m tired of talking about that,’ or, ‘Do we have to talk about race again?’ And the answer is, ‘You’re damned right we do.’”
“Because it’s always there, and it’s systemic, in the sense that when you talk about opportunity, it’s not about, ‘Well, if you lace up your shoes and you work hard, then you can have the American dream.’ That’s a bunch of hogwash.
“If you were born white, you automatically have a monstrous advantage — educationally, economically, culturally, in this society and all the systemic roadblocks that exist, whether it’s in a judicial sense, a neighborhood sense with laws, zoning, education. We have huge problems in that regard that are very complicated, but take leadership, time, and real concern to try to solve. It’s a tough one because people don’t really want to face it.”
“And it’s in our national discourse. We have a president of the United States who spent four or five years disparaging and trying to [delegitimize] our president. And we know that was a big fake. But still, [he] felt for some reason it had to be done. I can still remember a paraphrase close to a quote ‘investigators were sent to Hawaii and you cannot believe what they found.’ Well, that was a lie. So if it’s being discussed and perpetrated at that level, you’ve got a national problem.”
Hear hear. Thank you, Coach Pop.
