San Antonio Spurs head coach Gregg Popovich is one of the most esteemed figures in the NBA. Whenever this man speaks, people listen. This is exactly why coach Pop has continually used his platform to speak on relevant social issues outside the realm of basketball.
Popovich did exactly that in a surprise appearance at rap icon Jay-Z's social justice summit in New York. The Spurs shot-caller presented an award to renowned attorney Barry Scheck for his work with the Innocence Project, a nonprofit legal organization that seeks to exonerate wrongly convicted individuals. It was an opportunity for coach Pop to talk about a subject that he is very passionate about, so he did just that (h/t Shams Charania of The Athletic):
“This is the country we live in,” Popovich stated. “I don't have the answers but it pisses me off. It hurts me. It confounds me. And I wonder, where the hell will I live? I live in a country I did not know exists. I knew there were racists, I understand that. But I had no idea it was to this level, and that the injustice and the seeking of power was so rampant that we are in the position we're in now.”
Spurs coach Gregg Popovich made a surprise appearance at a social justice summit in NYC to present an award to Innocence Project co-founder Barry Scheck, honoring a program that exonerates the wrongly convicted. Summit organized by Jay Z’s Roc Nation and United Justice Coalition. pic.twitter.com/tY4XGk3uC9
— Shams Charania (@ShamsCharania) July 23, 2022
Popovich was a presenter during the social justice summit that was organized by Roc Nation, Jay-Z's record label. The event gathered social justice leaders from different fields amid the mid-term elections in the United States. Popovich certainly falls into that category in terms of being a very prominent figure in the world of professional sports.
This is far from the first time that Gregg Popovich has spoken openly about how he feels about the injustices in the country, and this certainly isn't going to be the last time.
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