Gregg Popovich takes aim at Robert Kraft, ‘hypocritical' NFL owners

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Robert Kraft can't have his cake and eat it too.

That's according to San Antonio Spurs head coach Gregg Popovich, who labeled the New England Patriots owner and the six other NFL owners who donated to Donald Trump's Inaugural Committee in 2017 "hypocrites" as they put out statements condemning racial inequality and police brutality following the murder of George Floyd.

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"It’s just hypocritical," Popovich told The New York Times' Maureen Dowd when asked about Kraft and other owners financially supporting the President. "It’s incongruent. It doesn’t make sense. People aren’t blind.

"Do you go to your staff and your players and talk about injustices and democracy and how to protest? I don’t get it. I think they put themselves in a position that’s untenable."

In a statement earlier this month, the Kraft family said the Patriots organization was "horrified" by recent acts of racism, notably Floyd's murder by a Minneapolis police offer in late May. The family also promised action to combat racism in America and recently pledged $1 million in donations to local organizations that are working to end systemic racism.

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Yet Kraft and several other owners also have close ties to Trump, who has repeatedly criticized Colin Kaepernick and other NFL players for kneeling during the national anthem to protest the same issues that persist today.

Considering Trump's stance on player protests (which hasn't changed), Popovich believes it's disingenuous for NFL owners who have supported the President to claim they support their players in their fight for racial justice.

Roger Goodell recently admitted he was wrong for not listening to players who joined Kaepernick's protest movement, but Popovich doesn't think the NFL commissioner deserves a pass, either.

"He got intimidated when Trump jumped on the kneeling," Popovich said. "He folded."

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