San Antonio Spurs head coach Gregg Popovich went viral on Wednesday during their showdown with the Los Angeles Clippers after he took a microphone mid-game and asked the fans to stop booing Kawhi Leonard.

In his message to the fans, Coach Pop told the Spurs faithful that being rude to their rivals is not something they represent. Not to mention that while Leonard's time in San Antonio ended ugly, he was still once part of their family.

“Excuse me for a second. Can we stop all the booing and let these guys play?” Popovich said while Leonard was on the free throw line. “It's got no class, it's not who we are. Knock off the booing.”

Of course not everyone appreciated Popovich's gesture. Despite that, though, the Spurs head coach has another reason for stopping the fans' boos, and it actually makes sense.

During his postgame presser following the Spurs' 109-102 loss to the Clippers, Popovich was asked again why he stopped the booing. He then emphasized that he already said it in his statement on the court: it's not who they are.

When asked if part of the reason for stopping the crowd's jeers was in order to not give Leonard any more motivation, Coach Pop then answered “you don't poke the bear,” per Hector Ledesma of ClutchPoints.

Whatever Gregg Popovich's thinking is, there's no reason to criticize his action. He has always been known as a class act, and what he did for Kawhi Leonard is certainly a great thing to see. Spurs fans simply need to move on from his departure. He was a big part of their 2014 success, and he'll always be part of their history.