![Trump-hating NBA coach Gregg Popovich: President is 'cowardly,' 'impotent' leader compared to NBA commissioner](https://www.theblaze.com/media-library/image.jpg?id=21992922&width=1245&height=700&quality=85&coordinates=0%2C27%2C0%2C28)
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Popovich also called Trump 'feckless'
San Antonio Spurs coach Gregg Popovich on Sunday called President Donald Trump "cowardly" and "impotent" compared to NBA Commissioner Adam Silver in the wake of the league's strained relationship with China.
Houston Rockets general manager Daryl Morey on Oct. 6 tweeted his support for the Hong Kong pro-democracy protests against China. The NBA initially rebuked Morey for offending China and Chinese basketball fans, but later Silver announced his support for Morey and free speech — which prompted China to stop broadcasting NBA preseason games.
Praising Silver as a "progressive" leader for his stance, Popovich on Tuesday also managed to get in a number of digs against Trump.
"Then you compare [Silver] to what we've had to live through the past three years, it's a big difference," Popovich said, according to the San Antonio Express-News. "A big gap there, leadership-wise and courage-wise. It wasn't easy for him to say. He said that in an environment fraught with possible economic peril. But he sided with the principles that we all hold dearly, or most of us did until the last three years. I'm thrilled with what he said. The courage and leadership displayed is off the charts by comparison."
In response, Trump criticized Popovich and Golden State Warriors coach Steve Kerr, saying they "talk badly about the United States — but when [they] talk about China, they don't want to say anything bad," Reuters reported.
When asked Sunday to comment about Trump's criticism of him and Kerr, Popovich called the president "feckless, impotent, and cowardly."
"All I did was make a comparison between Adam Silver's show of principle and courage in a tough situation as opposed to how our president reacts when in the company of authoritarian figures, whether it's Saudi Arabia or North Korea or Russia or Turkey, whatever it is," Popovich told reporters. "It comes off as pretty feckless, impotent, and cowardly by comparison."
Popovich added, "But [Silver] stood by our nation and its principles. That's pretty huge in these days. Sometimes it's kind of Orwellian. You think we're living in a place where, 'Is this really happening?' But that comparison is pretty stark when you put our president up against those leaders when he's with them or talking to them and how he reacts compared to the way Adam Silver reacted. I was proud of him. It was great."
Here's audio of Popovich's statement to the media:
Gregg Popvich responds to President Donald Trump's criticism of the NBA's China controversyyoutu.be
The staunchly left-wing Popovich has never been one to hold back his opinions regarding culture and politics, particularly his disdain for Trump: