Saturday marked the second time in franchise history the Spurs have held a Pride Night in support of San Antonio’s LGBTQ+ community and Gregg Popovich was proud of it.
The Spurs coach said that Pride Night will help San Antonio become more accepting of LGBTQ+ people. Last year was difficult for the LBGTQ+ community as it dealt with conservative lawmakers in several states, including Texas, introducing dozens of anti-LGBTQ+ measures. Violence against LGBTQ+ people also increased, culminating with a gunman killing five people at a gay nightclub in Colorado in November.
In Texas, the GOP adopted a new platform at its state convention that refers to homosexuality as “abnormal” and “opposes all efforts to validate transgender identity. Speaking at his pre-game news conference before the Spurs hosted Boston, Popovich said the legislative attacks against the LGBTQ+ community are part of an effort nationwide by “idiot” leaders to curtail the rights of the marginalized.
He said, “We have gone backward in a lot of those areas, whether it’s LGBTQ rights or voting rights or women’s rights, the environment.” The Spurs held their first Pride Night in December 2021. The franchise throwing its considerable weight behind the LGBTQ+ community could help San Antonio become a more inclusive city, advocates for lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender, and queer rights said at the time.
