In his latest rant against Donald Trump, San Antonio Spurs head coach Gregg Popovich called the president a “soulless coward” for making a false claim that Barack Obama and George W. Bush did not contact the families of U.S. soldiers killed in battle.
Speaking to The Nation’s Dave Zirin, Popovich lambasted Trump for his “never-ending divisiveness” and called him a “pathological liar” who is “unfit intellectually, emotionally, and psychologically” to be president.
“This man in the Oval Office is a soulless coward who thinks that he can only become large by belittling others,” the coach continued.
“This has of course been a common practice of his, but to do it in this manner — and to lie about how previous presidents responded to the deaths of soldiers — is as low as it gets,” he said.
“The people who work with this president should be ashamed because they know it better than anyone just how unfit he is, and yet they choose to do nothing about it. This is their shame most of all.”
This is far from the first time that Pop has criticized Trump, nor is he the only person in the NBA going after him. In May, he described Trump’s conduct as a “game show.” Last month, he said it was “comical” that Trump was rescinding the Golden State Warriors’ invitation to visit the White House when the NBA champions had previously announced that they would not be visiting, and said that America was an “embarrassment to the world” with Trump in the White House.
Elsewhere in the league, Warriors star Stephen Curry has criticized Trump in the media, while LeBron James called him a “bum” when responding to Trump’s tweet announcing he was rescinding the Warriors’ invite.
Considered one of the greatest coaches in NBA history, Popovich is currently tied with Phil Jackson with a record 20 consecutive winning seasons.