Pop speaks out on Voting Rights Act
Spurs coach Gregg Popovich on Monday bemoaned recent attacks on voting rights in courts and Republican-led state legislatures that have diminished the legacy of civil rights icon Martin Luther King Jr.
Speaking before the Spurs' game against the Hawks, the NBA'S all-time winningest coach was asked about the significance of the team playing on the national holiday honoring King in the city of his birth and burial.
“(It's significant) for all the reasons that history tells us so, but … it's even more meaningful and appropriate because of the lack of leadership we seem to have in the world right now,” Popovich said. “I can't imagine what this great man would be thinking today if he were here watching the gutting of the Voting Rights Act and all the other things that have brought a lot of people out from under rocks that we never knew existed, but maybe it made us smarter. They're there. I'm still amazed at how many people buy in.”
The latest blow to the Voting Rights Act occurred last November when a federal appeals court issued a ruling that limits who can sue under it, a decision if allowed to stand would severely undermine enforcement of the landmark 1965 law.
A 2-1 ruling from the U.S. Court of Appeals for the 8th Circuit found that only the U.S. Attorney General is authorized to sue under a key section of the law, meaning voters and groups like the NAACP would be barred from doing so.
The decision applies to seven states: Arkansas, Iowa, Minnesota, Missouri, Nebraska, North Dakota and South Dakota and is expected to be appealed to the U.S. Supreme Court.
In addition to court rulings, Republicans in statehouses across the country, including Texas, have introduced and signed into laws hundreds of bills restricting voting rights.
Popovich recalled King, who was killed by an assassin's bullet in Memphis in 1968, as a “man of vision, so much courage.”
Wembanyama eyeing Skills Challenge
Spurs rookie star Victor Wembanyama ranked only eighth in the latest round of fan All-star voting for frontcourt players from the Western Conference, but that doesn't mean he won't be heading to Indianapolis in mid-february.
A league source confirmed a report, citing sources, by The Athletic's Shams Charania on Monday that the No. 1 overall pick plans to commit to participate in the Skills Challenge at NBA All-star Weekend.
Wembanyama entered Monday's game at Atlanta ranked first on the Spurs in scoring (19.4 points per game), rebounding (10.2) and blocks (an Nba-best 3.1). He is also averaging 3.0 assists per game and 1.1 steals per game.
The 7-foot-3, 20-year-old center has outstanding passing, footwork, speed and ball-handling skills, making him a great fit for the Skills Challenge.
“The amount of things he can do, handle the ball, footwork (is so impressive),” Detroit coach Monty Williams said last week before the Pistons' 130-108 loss to the Spurs, who were led by Wembanyama recording his first triple double with 16 points, 12 rebounds and a season-high 10 assists in just 21 minutes due to a restriction on his minutes set by the team's medical staff to safeguard his right ankle.
“He had a play the other day on a fastbreak, he took it behind his back full speed and dunked the ball for an an-one,” Williams said. “That is really hard to do, and especially hard to do when you are that long and that tall.”