Head coach of the San Antonio Spurs, Gregg Popovich, took a jab at “book-banning culture” on Monday before the team’s matchup with the Atlanta Hawks.
Celebrating Dr. Martin Luther King Jr.’s birthday, Popovich began his media appearance by thanking the well-known leader. Then, he was questioned about what he was doing off the court to teach players about history and about lawmakers who were supposedly wanting to prohibit books.
“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 stated. “And I believe that as time has gone on, the league as a whole has lost out on this opportunity to make sure we’re spending time teaching the players historical facts about people, events, and things that have happened.
“Even my acquaintances who are Black would admit, ‘I was only introduced to this until I was thirty-two.'” Well, neither Black nor White of us were taught that for a very long period. That’s not surprising, but we need to combat this developing culture of book banning because if we don’t educate people, battle it, or teach them basketball skills off the court, it won’t matter much. However, off the court, it matters since there is currently a deliberate void there.”
According to Popovich, he is attempting to alter the negative connotation associated with the term “woke.”
We so cannot allow it to become the norm. We will have serious issues when it becomes normal. It is, in my opinion, the intention to challenge the status quo of the so-called “woke,” in many respects. It’s not bad to be awake. To be woke is to be alive. It indicates that you are concentrating. Now, some people are capable of going too far in a given direction. However, “woke” should generally be a positive phrase.
The Spurs are among the league’s youngest teams. Their players numbered ten, all born in 2000 or later.
