Aside from being a champion coach and one of the best ever, San Antonio Spurs bench tactician Gregg Popovich has always been known for giving very short, sometimes even one-word answers during interviews. However, things were different when asked to give his take on athletes' protest of racial violence, started by San Francisco 49ers quarterback, Colin Kaepernick.

The 67-year-old coach chimed in on the controversial issue eloquently, but as always, very wisely. As transcribed by Melissa Rohlin of the San Antonio News-Express:

“I think race is the elephant in the room in our country. The social situation that we’ve all experienced is absolutely disgusting in a lot of ways. What’s really interesting is the people that jump right away to say, one is attacking the police, or the people that jump on the other side. It’s a question where understanding and empathy has to trump, no pun intended, has to trump any quick reactions of an ideological or demagogical nature. It’s a topic that can’t just be swung at, people have to be very accurate and direct in what they say and do.”

Popovich also voiced his support for athletes continuing the conversation:

“I absolutely understand why they’re doing what they’re doing, and I respect their courage for what they’ve done. The question is whether it will do any good or not because it seems that change really seems to happen through political pressure, no matter how you look at it. Whether it’s Dr. [Martin Luther] King getting large groups together and boycotting buses, or what’s happened in Carolina with the NBA and other organizations pulling events to make it known what’s going on. But I think the important thing that Kaepernick and others have done is to keep it in the conversation. When’s the last time you heard the name Michael Brown? With our 24/7 news, things seem to drift. We’re all trying to just exist and survive.”

The Spurs coach also drilled the point home by talking about his own family:

“At this point, when somebody like Kaepernick brings attention to this, and others who have, it makes people have to face the issue because it’s too easy to let it go because it’s not their daily experience. If it’s not your daily experience, you don’t understand it. I didn’t talk to my kids about how to act in front of a policeman when you get stopped. I didn’t have to do that. All of my black friends have done that. There’s something that’s wrong about that, and we all know that. What’s the solution? Nobody has figured it out. But for sure, the conversation has to stay fresh, it has to stay continuous, it has to be persistent, and we all have a responsibility to make sure that happens in our communities.”

And just in case you thought Pop should run for President:

“Very clever, very clever. You all know me…I’d get in trouble real quickly.”