Popovich讚賞silver聲明的勇氣 - NBA

來源:https://tinyurl.com/y46uxfex

Popovich praises commissioner's 'courage' in handling of China firestorm

MIAMI -- Praising the NBA commissioner as a "courageous" and "very
progressive leader," Spurs coach Gregg Popovich said he was thrilled with the
way Adam Silver had handled the global fallout stemming from Tweets from
Houston general manager Daryl Morey supportive of pro-democracy protests in
Hong Kong.

Having been criticized in some corners for not being more supportive of Morey
amidst the backlash from China, a major revenue producer for the NBA, Silver
on Tuesday issued a statement clarifying the league's positions. It walked a
line between underscoring the NBA's "great affinity for the people of China"
while also taking a stand for the free speech of its players, employees and
team owners.


One of the more outspoken and socially conscious coaches in the NBA, Popovich
-- who recently returned from leading Team USA at the FIBA World Cup in China
-- praised Silver's approach to a hot-button subject.

Here is the entirety of Popovich's comments, offered before the Spurs faced
Miami in a preseason game Tuesday night:

"I guess I can go at it this way. Adam is a very progressive leader. We all
remember how he handled the situation with the former owner of the Clippers.
It made everybody proud because it was the right thing to do. A couple of
years ago, I was walking the streets in New York City during the gay pride
parade. I turned around and here comes a float, and Adam is standing on a
float with a big sign in support of LGBTQ. And I felt great again, just like
I did with the Clipper deal.

"我覺得我完全可以認同(Silver)表示的立場，Adam是個十分進步開明的領導者，我們
都還記得他當初如何(高明地)處理快艇老闆事件的風波，那時他讓每個人都感到驕傲，
因為他單純做了對的事。幾年之前我曾參加支持紐約市的同志遊行，Adam也到場表示
支持。"


"He came out strongly for freedom of speech (today). I felt great again. He's
been a heck of a leader in that respect and very courageous. Then you compare
it to what we've had to live through the past three years, it's a big
difference. A big gap there, leadership-wise and courage-wise. It wasn't easy
for him to say. He said that in an environment fraught with possible economic
peril. But he sided with the principles that we all hold dearly, or most of
us did until the last three years. I'm thrilled with what he said. The
courage and leadership displayed is off the charts by comparison.

"We've all talked about or heard about all the talking heads have and
everybody for the last three years, 'What kind of country do you want to be?
Who are we? Where do we want to go?' Adam said something that helps you
understand what direction you need to go in, rather than the cowardice of not
being able to respond to something of the murder of Mr. (Jamal) Khashoggi.
There are many, many incidents like that where leadership and courage mean
nothing. It's all about personal aggrandizement. I was thrilled."

"如今他站出來捍衛言論自由的底線，我再次為他感到驕傲，他是如此一個值得尊敬的
領導者且非常有勇氣，.........在如此一個存在高度經濟風險的決策環境中做出這樣
的作為，但他hold住了我們一直想維護捍衛的原則和價值....。"

"在之前的三年內，我們不斷地討論著，我們想成為怎麼樣的國家?我們(本質上)是
怎樣的人?我們想往哪個(原則)方向前進?Adam大可如當時(沙霧地阿拉伯記者)卡舒吉
先生遇害時很多人做的那樣懦弱地不對任何相關議題回應表態，但他出來說了一番
讓大家明白他認為你應該趨向的方向的評論，這世上有太多時候，領導風範和勇氣
不會帶給你除了個人風範地位上提升(功利上)的任何好處啦，我很佩服他"


Popovich ended his comments with this: "Anybody got anything about the game
or anything like that?"

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