Popovich praises commissioner's 'courage' in handling of China firestorm

BEIJING, CHINA - SEPTEMBER 14: Head Coach Gregg Popovich of USA reacted to the controversy in China.

BEIJING, CHINA - SEPTEMBER 14: Head Coach Gregg Popovich of USA reacted to the controversy in China. Photo: Lintao Zhang / Getty Images Photo: Lintao Zhang / Getty Images Image 1 of / 20 Caption Close Popovich praises commissioner's 'courage' in handling of China firestorm 1 / 20 Back to Gallery

MIAMI -- Praising the NBA commissioner as a "courageous" and "very progressive leader," Spurs coach Gregg Popovich said he was thrilled with the way Adam Silver had handled the global fallout stemming from Tweets from Houston general manager Daryl Morey supportive of pro-democracy protests in Hong Kong.

Having been criticized in some corners for not being more supportive of Morey amidst the backlash from China, a major revenue producer for the NBA, Silver on Tuesday issued a statement clarifying the league's positions. It walked a line between underscoring the NBA's "great affinity for the people of China" while also taking a stand for the free speech of its players, employees and team owners.

One of the more outspoken and socially conscious coaches in the NBA, Popovich -- who recently returned from leading Team USA at the FIBA World Cup in China -- praised Silver's approach to a hot-button subject.

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Here is the entirety of Popovich's comments, offered before the Spurs faced Miami in a preseason game Tuesday night:

"I guess I can go at it this way. Adam is a very progressive leader. We all remember how he handled the situation with the former owner of the Clippers. It made everybody proud because it was the right thing to do. A couple of years ago, I was walking the streets in New York City during the gay pride parade. I turned around and here comes a float, and Adam is standing on a float with a big sign in support of LGBTQ. And I felt great again, just like I did with the Clipper deal.

"He came out strongly for freedom of speech (today). I felt great again. He's been a heck of a leader in that respect and very courageous. Then you compare it to what we've had to live through the past three years, it's a big difference. A big gap there, leadership-wise and courage-wise. It wasn't easy for him to say. He said that in an environment fraught with possible economic peril. But he sided with the principles that we all hold dearly, or most of us did until the last three years. I'm thrilled with what he said. The courage and leadership displayed is off the charts by comparison.

"We've all talked about or heard about all the talking heads have and everybody for the last three years, 'What kind of country do you want to be? Who are we? Where do we want to go?' Adam said something that helps you understand what direction you need to go in, rather than the cowardice of not being able to respond to something of the murder of Mr. (Jamal) Khashoggi. There are many, many incidents like that where leadership and courage mean nothing. It's all about personal aggrandizement. I was thrilled."

Popovich ended his comments with this: "Anybody got anything about the game or anything like that?"