Gregg Popovich, the #Spurs coach, defended fans who booed Kawhi Leonard, stating that fans have the right to express themselves but also acknowledged the hurtful and disrespectful nature of the jeering. Popovich expressed no regrets about admonishing the crowd, emphasizing that the behavior was unwise and hurtful to the team. Steve Kerr supported Popovich's actions, highlighting Kawhi's contribution to the franchise. Popovich described the constant jeering as an indication of the world we live in today and emphasized that it was hateful and mean-spirited. Despite criticism, Popovich remains resolute in his stance, expressing no regrets over chastising the crowd for their behavior.
Amid the boos, Gregg Popovich finds the limits of his power. Sunday column: https://t.co/CK4YIlWRou via @expressnews
Gregg Popovich doubles down - says Spurs fans booing players is what's wrong with the world these days. https://t.co/2U0FvEjehA
Gregg Popovich has no regrets over chastising crowd for booing Kawhi Leonard: ‘It was hateful’ https://t.co/LsTaJKL2pE
Gregg Popovich doubles down on chiding ‘hateful’ boos #GreggPopovich https://t.co/X8yoERtQVA
Gregg Popovich doubles down on chiding ‘hateful’ boos: ‘Felt sorry’ for Kawhi Leonard https://t.co/RoR8W4yyLw https://t.co/yOBcJ0T0lP
Maybe the fans could tell Gregg Popovich, "Hey, try to have a little coaching ability. Losing 11 games in a row is not who we are." https://t.co/wpCxJXcZkj
Gregg Popovich’s mid-game mic grab just another tired act from holier-than-thou coach https://t.co/PZYba3N0cC https://t.co/rxmwrR1bch
Two days after taking the unusual step of asking fans to stop booing Kawhi Leonard, #Spurs coach Gregg Popovich said he has "absolutely" no regrets about admonishing the crowd to stop behavior he called "hateful" and "mean-spirited." https://t.co/C2VINTG9tL
Steve Kerr, "I completely understand why Pop did what he did because Kawhi deserved the respect that comes with helping your franchise win a championship."
Steve Kerr: "Booing should be selective. I think there should be a general rule that if a guy helps your franchise win a championship, he should never be booed in your building...Other people fair game."
Asked Steve Kerr about Pop's in-game mic moment and he said, "It's typical Pop. He is pure class & he really genuinely cares about the Spurs organization and the reputation, and the behavior of the fans is in his mind part of representing the Spurs. I thought it was really cool."
Pop: "And then on a practical level, it hurts us more than it hurts them because it just pokes the bear and makes him want to stick it to you even harder and that hurts your team. So, it doesn’t make any sense. It is unwise, so on every level, I have no regrets whatsoever."
Pop also praised the fans for what they mean to the Spurs and that he believes Wednesday was "kind of a one-off." But he added the constant jeering of Kawhi is "kind of an indication of the world we live in today. It was hateful, really disrespectful & it was just mean-spirited."
Asked if he had any regrets, Pop said, "Absolutely not. It’s pretty easy to understand. I listened to it for a while and it just got louder & louder & uglier & uglier, and I felt sorry for him and was embarrassed for our city and our organization because that’s not who we are."
Asked Pop if he has any regrets about how he handled asking the fans to stop booing Kawhi, and he offered a more thorough, detail explanation of his motives other than his "don't poke the bear" comment the other night.
Gregg Popovich’s mid-game mic grab just another tired act from holier-than-thou coach https://t.co/F5mU9Xsywb https://t.co/xRT0rxvjbf
A #Spurs shareholder diplomatically defended fans who booed Kawhi Leonard and Pop’s decision to admonish them: “Pop had the right to go do that...But I also think fans pay a lot of money to go to the games and they have a right to blow some steam." https://t.co/cX34TxWVKd