Longtime San Antonio Spurs coach Gregg Popovich has endorsed Democrat Beto O’Rourke in the Texas Senate race, My San Antonio reports.
Coach Pop was spotted wearing a “Beto” cap Friday, but officially announced his support for O’Rourke today, calling the Democrat a “special guy,” and praising him for being “civil.”
“You get so tired of all the lies and the divisiveness, and the fear-mongering and the race-baiting. It just diminishes all of us. It makes all of us feel strange, and when I think of Beto, or I listen to what he says, I feel like what I thought an American is supposed to be. He’s classy. He’s intelligent. He’s civil.”
Popovich also praised O’Rourke for visiting all 254 Texas counties while campaigning, adding that the Democrat – unlike his Republican opponent Ted Cruz – “cares about all the people,” and refuses to accept donations from political action committees and corporations.
Gregg Popovich is not one to shy away from being blunt. His trademark dry sense of humor has been both criticized and praised, and his offbeat in-game interview style has inspired GQ ‘s Jack Moore to author a column in which he dubbed Popovich “the king” of sideline interviews.
The San Antonio Spurs coach has criticized Donald Trump on multiple occasions, according to the Washington Post , accusing the president of bringing out “the dark side” in Americans.
But not all sportsmen are against President Trump and the Republican Party. Unlike Gregg Popovich, legendary college basketball coach Bobby Knight is an ardent Trump supporter.
During a fiery Republican rally in Indiana, Knight riled up the crowd, leading chants, according to Fox News .
Gregg Popovich endorses Beto O’Rourke in Texas senate race https://t.co/tF6253y9Kp pic.twitter.com/3Ki5g7D7Dd
— The Hill (@thehill) November 4, 2018
According to Coach Pop, Texans should choose O’Rourke over Ted Cruz because the Democrat is “out for the people.”
“He wants everything to be fair. He wants justice. He wants our democratic institutions to be respected, so that we are proud of being Americans,” is how Popovich described O’Rourke, and then proceeded to rip into Ted Cruz, calling the Republican senator “desperate,” and accusing him of getting into politics out of selfish ambition.
San Antonio Spurs coach and NBA legend Gregg Popovich is not the first high-profile American to stump for Beto O’Rourke.
As TMZ reported, dozens of celebrities have publicly expressed support for Beto O’Rourke and donated to his campaign: Jimmy Kimmel, Rosie O’Donnell, Sarah Jessica Parker, Chris Rock, Chelsea Handler, and Tate Donovan have all made significant contributions to the Democratic candidate’s campaign.
O’Rourke has broken all campaign fundraising records and, as the Inquisitr reported earlier today, managed to close the gap in the polls between himself and Cruz, but Cruz is still in the lead.
It remains to be seen whether almost unanimous celebrity support for the Texas Democrat will be enough to tip the scales in his favor.