Continuing his embrace of liberal causes, San Antonio Spurs head coach Gregg Popovich made news Saturday by donning a hat that read "BETO" during Saturday's practice.
Local ABC reporter RJ Marquez was the first to notice the hat, according to The Hill.
#Spurs head coach Gregg Popovich makes his support known ahead of election day...wearing a Beto cap today at practi… https://t.co/IioYHnIFYU— RJ Marquez (@RJ Marquez) 1541189562.0
When asked about the hat on Saturday, Popovich admitted that he was endorsing Texas Democrat Beto O'Rourke in his United States Senate race against incumbent Sen. Ted Cruz (R).
When asked about his reasons for endorsing O'Rourke, Popovich's answer was predictably short on listing actual accomplishments from O'Rourke, and instead focused mostly on how O'Rourke made the 69 year old Popovich feel.
According to My San Antonio, Popovich stated, "It makes all of us feel strange, and when I think of Beto, or I listen to what he says, I feel like what I thought an American is supposed to be. He's classy. He's intelligent. He's civil."
Popovich also seemed a little bit fuzzy about the sources for O'Rourke's fundraising, claiming, "He's been everywhere because he cares about all the people, and he doesn't deal with PACs (political action committees) and corporations and all that sort of thing, he just does the work."
In reality, although O'Rourke has promised to refuse to accept PAC money, he has allowed PACs to raise money for him.
Popovich also had some choice words about O'Rourke's opponent, Ted Cruz, telling My San Antonio, "When people are so desperate as is his opponent, that scares me. To do what Mr. Cruz has done to try to get elected is very scary. That's about self. That's not about the rest of us. And Beto is the exact opposite of that, and that's why I think he is great."
Popovich did not elaborate about what, specifically, is "scary" about Ted Cruz.
Popovich, who is one of the most successful coaches in NBA history, has long been a booster of liberal causes and a critic of President Trump. When Trump won the election, he went on a six-minute rant to reporters that included, among other things, a lament about the "disgusting tenor, tone and all the comments that have been xenophobic, homophobic, racist, misogynistic. And I live in that country where half the people ignored all that to elect someone."
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