San Antonio Spurs head coach Gregg Popovich didn't just talk basketball ahead of the team's final game of the season. He also took a moment to criticize Republicans by name for their response to the March 27 shooting at a school in Nashville, Tennessee.
Three children and three staff members were killed when a person opened fire at The Covenant School.
"Lindsey Graham or Jim Jordan — whomever of them have kids, nieces or nephews or grandkids, can they imagine that happening to theirs?" Popovich stated.
The outspoken coach then referred to comments made by other Republican lawmakers following the shooting, including Tennessee Gov. Bill Lee, who said he was "monitoring the situation."
"What are you monitoring? They're dead. Children. They're dead," Popovich stated.
The Spurs head coach said this issue is personal for him. He said he picks up his grandchildren from school when he's not traveling.
"On the way, it goes through my mind that I hope they're going to be OK," he said.
Most Republicans have refused to blame guns for mass shootings. Following the shooting in Nashville, Lee proposed having armed security guards at every school in Tennessee, providing grants to public and private schools for security, and doubling the funding for school-based mental health resources. He made no mention of immediately implementing any gun control laws.
Popovich said defending the Second Amendment in the name of freedom is a "joke" when children are dying at school.
"Is it freedom for kids to go to school and try to socialize and try to learn and be scared to death that they might die that day?" Popovich asked.
