President Trump took time out of his busy tweeting schedule to address the media about how NBA coaches Steve Kerr and Greg Popovich responded to the ongoing controversy in China.
Speaking on Wednesday afternoon, Trump said Kerr and Popovich, both of whom have been vocal critics of the president were “pandering to China” with their comments, or lack thereof.
Known for sharing their opinions, Kerr and Popovich both avoided addressing the situation in China head-on and deferred commenting further until a later day.
“He couldn’t answer the question — he was shaking, ‘Oh, oh, oh, I don’t know. I don’t know,’” Trump said of Kerr. “He didn’t know how to answer the question, and yet he’ll talk about the United States very badly.”
Popovich went a little farther than Kerr did in his comments and praised NBA commissioner Adam Silver for protecting free speech, so he was awarded partial credit by Trump.
“I watched Popovich — sort of the same thing, but he didn’t look quite as scared actually,” Trump said. “But they talk badly about the United States, but when it talks about China, they don’t want to say anything bad. I thought it was pretty sad, actually. It’ll be very interesting.”
President Trump criticized coaches Steve Kerr and Greg Popovich for their refusal to answer questions on the controversy surrounding the NBA and China pic.twitter.com/umDb7IaP4Y
— Reuters Top News (@Reuters) October 10, 2019
The president wasn’t the only Trump to go after the coaches.
LOL “no question too dangerous”
It’s not quantum physics, China’s human rights abuses are well documented and nothing new.
Let’s face it… it’s all about the $$$$
Don’t hide behind the “I’m not versed enough” bullshit when you spout off on everything else. #nba https://t.co/d2b2evjRqW
— Donald Trump Jr. (@DonaldJTrumpJr) October 10, 2019
In China, today’s Lakers-Nets preseason game in Shanghai went on as planned but all media availability — including a scheduled news conference from NBA Commissioner Adam Silver and postgame news conferences with the teams — were canceled.
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