Marshawn Lynch’s interactions with the media have been well documented. Being compared to Lynch is probably the one time some people don’t want to be compared to Beast Mode, but some think San Antonio Spurs head coach Gregg Popovich is in the same category.
Popovich denied that he was the Beast Mode of the NBA and claims that he only gets cranky with the media at particular times during games.
“The only time I’m uncooperative is the end of the first or third quarter,” Popovich told Amick. “Other than that, I do interviews and laugh it up with everybody all the time. I just have a philosophical difference with the NBA, and I let them know it every time. But that’s like 1 percent of the interviews that I do.”
In other words, Popovich simply isn’t a fan of conducting in-game interviews. He suggested there’s enough television access to both teams over the course of a game — with mic’d-up coaches, cameras in timeouts, etc. — that networks don’t have a reason to further take away from coaches doing their jobs.
“I said, ‘I’m supposed to be setting the defense and offense to start the next quarter, and I can’t do my job because I’m doing this inane deal with whoever is asking me a question,’ ” Popovich told Amick. “The questions are unanswerable. It’s like, ‘That quarter, you got killed on the boards. What are you going to do about it?’ ‘Well, I’m going to conduct a trade during timeouts.’ Or, ‘I’m going to ask them nicely to do a better job on the boards.’
“The questions just demand a trite quip, or something, so I just say, ‘You know, it just puts everybody in a stupid position.’ And (NBA officials) listen to it, and then they go, ‘Yeah, well (blabbering).’ And then they don’t do anything about it. So I just do what I do.”
There will only ever be one Marshawn Lynch when it comes to his relationship with the media. I think Pops raises a valid point when it comes to the NBA making him talk to sideline reporters during the game. The man simply wants to do his job and focus on his team, rather than giving quotes to someone.