Doc Rivers, to be clear, is not a supporter of Donald Trump. In fact, he's gone out of his way in the past to decry the President's policies and general worldview, which he believes sow unnecessary discord throughout the country.
Forgive yourself for assuming otherwise on Saturday morning, though, when Trump retweeted an article about the Los Angeles Clippers' stunning acquisitions of Kawhi Leonard and Paul George by singling out Rivers, calling him a “Great Coach, Great Guy.”
Great Coach, Great Guy! https://t.co/TWAb8u9KIS
— Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) July 6, 2019
In October of last year, Rivers called Trump the “worst person that I can remember for race relations,” but warned against attacking the President because his base of supporters are whipped into a frenzy every time he's criticized.
“I think (Trump) has been the worst person that I can remember for race relations,” he said, per Sports Illustrated. “Having said that, attacking him does nothing. That only gives his base a stronger position. The answer is rallying to vote and trying to create change.”
Rivers had previously called out Trump for the President's remarks about football players kneeling during the national anthem to protest systemic racism, saying that if Trump “did his job, players would not be kneeling at the end of the day.”
The Clippers pulled off one of the biggest coups in NBA history late on Friday night, signing Leonard and trading for George almost simultaneously. While losing Shai Gilgeous-Alexander and Danilo Gallinari, not to mention the rights to six future first-round picks, will undoubtedly hurt Los Angeles, the trade-off of immediate and potentially lasting championship contention – plus the accompanying level of notoriety needed to get Trump's attention – is surely worth it.
Follow Us
Subscribe