Gregg Popovich isn’t one to shy away from social issues, especially in terms of civil rights.
So, naturally, the death of United States representative and civil rights icon John Lewis struck a chord with the San Antonio Spurs’ head coach. Popovich released a powerful statement about the late congressman Sunday morning.
“(Lewis has) been such an iconic figure for so long. It’s hard not to feel the loss of somebody who has been so important for our country. He’s a rare combination of an abundance of courage, and at the same time, amazing humility,” Popovich said Sunday, via ESPN’s Marc J. Spears. “Nothing was ever about him. It was always about the work that he wanted to do to try to make this nation live up to its promises. And that — I always felt — was really special about him. He was always hopeful. He was always ready for the fight — in a good way. He pushed America. He pushed white privilege. Kind of ironic that white privilege and white supremacy kept those promises from being fully realized. And he — who was downtrodden — made sure that he never gave up and continued to push this country in the right direction.
“So, he — along with many others obviously — he was one of those special people that now that he is gone, you really feel an absence — an absence of decency, an absence of righteous effort for justice for everybody. And hopefully we can move on in a way that honors what he did his whole life. You know, the opposite of what is going on now with the gutting of the Voting Rights Act. So all those politicians that are praising Congressman Lewis on the one hand are the same people that are willing to guy the Voting Rights Act that he worked so hard for. That, I think, is disgusting.”
Spurs head coach Gregg Popovich on the passing of Civil Rights Icon and Congressman John Lewis. pic.twitter.com/X1cNZOgS75
— Marc J. Spears (@MarcJSpears) July 19, 2020
Well said.
Lewis, 80, had battled pancreatic cancer in the six months before his death.
