Spurs coach Gregg Popovich: 'Woke ain’t bad'

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San Antonio Spurs head coach Gregg Popovich railed against "book-banning culture" on Monday ahead of the team’s game against the Atlanta Hawks.

Popovich started his media availability by praising Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. on the day honoring the famed leader. He was then asked about lawmakers allegedly trying to ban books and what he was doing off the court to educate players about history.

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San Antonio Spurs head coach Gregg Popovich reacts during the Cavaliers game at Rocket Mortgage FieldHouse in Cleveland on Jan. 7, 2024. (David Richard-USA Today Sports)

"These days and in our situation for a long time, we’ve gotten a lot more satisfaction out of our jobs in San Antonio," Popovich said. "And I think that’s gone across the league as time has gone on, by making sure we’re spending time with the players with lessons in history about people, about events, things that have happened, because I think it’s been missed to a great degree. 

"I mean, even Black friends that I know would say, ‘I didn’t know such and such until I was 32 years old.’ Well, it didn’t get taught to any of us – Black or White – for a very long time. So, it’s not a surprise, but now that we have this book-banning culture rising up, it has to be fought because if we don’t fight it, if we don’t inform, if we don’t teach off-the-court basketball stuff, it doesn’t mean much. But off the court, it’s important because there’s a void there, and it’s an intentional void at this point."

San Antonio Spurs head coach Gregg Popovich talks to guard Tre Jones during the Pistons game at Little Caesars Arena on Jan. 10, 2024, in