Gregg Popovich Blasts Texas Governor Greg Abbott For Lifting The Mask Mandate In His State

San Antonio Spurs head coach Gregg Popovich is never afraid to speak his mind when it comes to politics and current events. He made that clear once again today after Texas governor Greg Abbott lifted the state’s mandate that requires residents to wear a mask during the COVID-19 pandemic.

I just announced Texas is OPEN 100%.

EVERYTHING.

I also ended the statewide mask mandate.

— Greg Abbott (@GregAbbott_TX) March 2, 2021

Here’s what Popovich had to say about Abbott’s controversial decision.

“As far as the players go, we listen to the NBA, not the governor,” Popovich told reporters Tuesday.

Popovich would go on to call Greg Abbot’s decision ‘mystifying’.

“Basically you’re saying, ‘You get infected and you die?'” Popovich said via Sports Illustrated. “‘That’s the way it goes. We got to open up.’ That’s not the way to do it. This is really ridiculous.’

Here was Gregg Popovich’s full rant:

Spurs coach Gregg Popovich called it "pretty mystifying" for Texas Governor Greg Abbott to lift mask mandates while the pandemic is still going on pic.twitter.com/fRrSelcchB

— Mark Medina (@MarkG_Medina) March 3, 2021

The 72-year-old Popovich recognized the toll that the pandemic has taken on restaurants and local businesses, but also wanted to make a case that while the vaccines are starting to become distributed, the pandemic is not over. We’ll see if Gregg Abbott’s clown show decision will lead to an outbreak in Texas. I mean, I don’t get it…is it really that much of a burden to wear a mask? Maybe I’m missing something.

According to the New York Times, only 13% of people in Texas have received a single dose of the COVID-19 vaccine, making Greg Abbott’s state one of the slowest in distribution.

I’m with Gregg Popovich on this one.

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