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Gregg Popovich, the head coach of the San Antonio Spurs, has spoken on the Israel-Gaza war and believes a lack of leadership is why there hasn’t been a solution to the ongoing conflict in the Middle East.
The American Hall-of-Famer, who is the longest-serving active coach in the NBA, has been an outspoken voice on many social justice issues in the United States over the years. He said it’s important to talk about what’s happening in Palestine and Israel to keep the problem at the forefront and force leaders to act.
“Many people have tried to solve this problem, as you specifically talk about Palestine, for decades and it hasn’t happened. Talking about it is important because if we don’t, it goes away, nobody pays attention,” Popovich said in a Zoom call on Wednesday, when asked by The National about the conflict.
“So I think the more that it is talked about, the better. I don’t know how that solves it, I wish I had an answer but all our hearts just die when we see the horror that Hamas committed and then we feel the same when we see the bombs dropping killing children and civilians in Palestine.”
As calls for a humanitarian ceasefire in Gaza continue to be rejected by Israel, Popovich feels leaders must put history aside and choose to prioritise the lives of innocent children.
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A girl is rescued from the rubble of a building destroyed by Israeli air strikes in Jabalia refugee camp, in the northern Gaza Strip. AP Photo -
An Apache helicopter fires flares, seen from Sderot in southern Israel, close to the border with Gaza. Reuters -
Palestinians plug their phones into portable charging stations on a street in Khan Younis, Gaza. Bloomberg -
Residents search survivors among the rubble following Israeli strikes on Jabalia, northern Gaza. EPA -
Palestinians search for survivors and bodies following Israeli airstrikes at the Jabalia, the largest refugee camp in Gaza. AP -
Palestinians look for survivors among the rubble of destroyed buildings following Israeli strikes on Jabalia refugee camp in northern Gaza. AP -
Palestinians look for survivors among the rubble of destroyed buildings following Israeli strikes on Jabalia refugee camp in northern Gaza. AP -
A fire burns in western Gaza after an Israeli air strike. Reuters -
Missiles are fired from Israel towards the Gaza Strip. Getty Images -
Smoke rises from an explosion in Gaza. Getty Images -
A group of men survey the destruction following air strikes on Al Shatee camp in Gaza city, as Israeli forces entered the northern area of the Gaza Strip. AFP -
A man drives a damaged car following air strikes on Gaza city. AFP -
A man pushes a bicycle past the remains of buildings destroyed in Israeli strikes on Al Shatee camp in Gaza city. AFP -
A woman and children walk past a house destroyed in Israeli strikes on Al Shatee camp in Gaza city. AFP -
People dig through the rubble of a destroyed building following Israeli strikes on Al Shatee camp in Gaza city. AFP -
A man drives a damaged car past a building destroyed in Israeli strikes on Al Shatee camp in Gaza city. AFP -
People gather amid the destruction following Israeli strikes on Al Shatee camp in Gaza city. AFP -
Wrecked vehicles and rubble on the streets following Israeli strikes on Al Shatee camp in Gaza city. AFP -
Smoke rises from the northern Gaza Strip as Israeli air and ground forces amplified their military activities against Hamas. EPA -
An Israeli Apache attack helicopter flies close to the border with the Gaza Strip, near Israel's southern city of Ashkelon. AFP -
Israeli soldiers in an armoured personnel carrier on patrol near Israel's border with Gaza. EPA -
The crew of an Israeli tank prepare for ground operations near the border with Gaza. EPA -
Israeli soldiers prepare for ground manoeuvres at an undisclosed location in Israel near the border with Gaza. EPA -
The ruins of northern Gaza seen from Sderot in southern Israel. EPA -
Smoke and explosions caused by Israeli bombardment over northern Gaza. AP Photo -
An explosion on the Israel-Gaza border. Reuters -
A video grab shows fireballs and smoke rising above Gaza city following an Israeli attack. AFP -
An explosion in Gaza seen from Sderot in southern Israel. Reuters -
A video grab shows rockets fired from Gaza city. AFP -
Israeli air strikes in the northern Gaza Strip. AP Photo -
A video grab shows a salvo of rockets fired from Gaza city. AFP -
A flare trail fired by the Israeli army east of Khan Younis on the southern Gaza Strip. AFP -
Smoke from the bombing of the Gaza Strip over the Israeli border city of Ashkelon. AFP -
Flares over Gaza as seen from Sderot in southern Israel. Reuters
“As we speak, we know that there are people trying to figure this out. Should there be a ceasefire, should there not? How do we move forward? Is it a military solution? On and on and on. And we just hope that we can find leadership somehow. Because that’s the one thing I think is always lacking,” said Popovich.
“Can there be no men or women who can sit down, get over the greedy power-hungry perceptions that we all have? The arguments, the fights, the histories that everybody has and continues to employ; at some point, the circle has got to stop and somebody has got to have the integrity and the courage to say, ‘We start from here’.
“Somehow the past has to be put away. Because every time the past comes up, decisions can’t be made. People become locked in their own worlds and we kill more children.
“It’s just hard for me to understand all the people who are so adamant about their positions, they have children, they have grandchildren; isn’t that the point? And I wish there were leaders that could grab X number of people by the scruff to the neck, put them in a room and tell them they’re not leaving until they figure it out.
“It sounds simplistic but someone has to have the courage, and I don’t see it.”
