It’s no secret that San Antonio Spurs coach Gregg Popovich decided that the pregame press conference prior to the NBA Western Conference Finals was the appropriate time to blather about his political gripes.

I feel like there’s a cloud, a pall, over the whole country in a paranoid surreal sort of way.

Right, and people turn to sports and entertainment to get away from it and because jerks like you can’t let it go, you make it worse for everyone. And you’re doing so with partisan lies like this.

It’s got nothing to do with the Democrats losing the election.

It doesn’t have EVERYTHING to do with the Democrats losing the election but to say that the Democrats losing has nothing to do with the cloud over this country is delusional. After 8 years of Obama there are people who simply can’t handle the thought of anyone but a far left progressive in the White House. This nationwide freakout would be happening even if another Republican had been elected. Granted, Trump makes it worse because he’s Trump, but to say Democrat sore-loserism isn’t a factor is a partisan lie Popovich is telling himself.

It’s got to do with the way one individual conducts himself. And that’s embarrassing. It’s dangerous to our institutions and what we all stand for, what we expect the country to be. But for this individual, he’s in a game show. And everything that happens begins and ends with him, not our people or our country. Every time he talks about those things it’s just a ruse. That’s just disingenuous cynical and fake.

I don’t recall whether Popovich regarded it as disingenuous, cynical, or fake when Barack Obama said, “If you like your plan, you can keep your plan,” or when he said “I’m a big fan of the free market.” I’m guessing he probably never covered that in a press conference.

I also question whether Popovich is entitled to speak about “what we all stand for.” Clearly we don’t all stand for the same things, evidenced by the widespread butthurt.

I’ve got nothing against criticizing Trump because there’s a lot to criticize, but if you’re in front of a camera to talk about basketball, talk about basketball and just shut up about politics. If you think Trump is ruining America, that’s no justification for you to ruin sports with your political bitterness.

That’s ESPN’s job anyway.