Spurs coach Gregg Popovich: 'Woke ain’t bad'

San Antonio Spurs head coach Gregg Popovich railed against "book-banning culture" on Monday ahead of the team’s game against the Atlanta Hawks.

Popovich started his media availability by praising Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. on the day honoring the famed leader. He was then asked about lawmakers allegedly trying to ban books and what he was doing off the court to educate players about history.

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San Antonio Spurs head coach Gregg Popovich reacts during the Cavaliers game at Rocket Mortgage FieldHouse in Cleveland on Jan. 7, 2024. (David Richard-USA Today Sports)

"These days and in our situation for a long time, we’ve gotten a lot more satisfaction out of our jobs in San Antonio," Popovich said. "And I think that’s gone across the league as time has gone on, by making sure we’re spending time with the players with lessons in history about people, about events, things that have happened, because I think it’s been missed to a great degree. 

"I mean, even Black friends that I know would say, ‘I didn’t know such and such until I was 32 years old.’ Well, it didn’t get taught to any of us – Black or White – for a very long time. So, it’s not a surprise, but now that we have this book-banning culture rising up, it has to be fought because if we don’t fight it, if we don’t inform, if we don’t teach off-the-court basketball stuff, it doesn’t mean much. But off the court, it’s important because there’s a void there, and it’s an intentional void at this point."

San Antonio Spurs head coach Gregg Popovich talks to guard Tre Jones during the Pistons game at Little Caesars Arena on Jan. 10, 2024, in Detroit. (Rick Osentoski-USA Today Sports)

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Popovich added that he was trying to change the negative connotation around the term "woke."

"So, we can’t let it become normal. When it becomes normal then we got real problems. And I think that’s the goal in a lot of ways, to change the status quo of so-called ‘woke.’ Woke ain’t bad. Woke means you’re alive. It means you’re paying attention. Now, some people can overdo it in a certain degree in a certain way. But in general, woke should be a positive term."

The Spurs boast one of the youngest teams in the league. Ten of their players were born in 2000 or after.

San Antonio Spurs head coach Gregg Popovich speaks with center Victor Wembanyama before the Mavericks game at American Airlines Center in Dallas on Dec. 23, 2023. (Kevin Jairaj-USA Today Sports)

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San Antonio eventually lost to the Hawks, 109-99. The team is 7-32 on the year.

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