SAN ANTONIO — Stan Van Gundy started it. Golden State's Steve Kerr followed up.
Now it's San Antonio Spurs coach Gregg Popovich's turn to get weigh in on the U.S. presidential election.
And just like the two coaches that preceded him, he's not happy.
"I'm still sick to my stomach. And not basically because the Republicans won or anything, but the disgusting tenor and tone," Popovich told San Antonio reporters Friday night before the Pistons' 96-86 loss at AT&T Center.
"All of the comments have been xenophobic, homophobic, racist, misogynistic. And I live in that country where half the people ignored all that to elect someone. That's the scariest part of the whole thing to me."
Popovich's comments come three days after Van Gundy, of the Pistons, made national headlines blasting Donald Trump, calling the president-elect and billionaire business mogul "brazenly racist and misogynist."
"We live in a country that ignored all those values that we would hold our kids accountable for," Popovich said. "They would be grounded for years if they said the things that were said in that campaign by Donald Trump.
"I look at the evangelicals and I wonder, those values don't mean anything to them? All those values, to me, are more important than anybody's skill in business or anything else. Because it tells who we are and how we want to live, and what kind of people they are."
Popvoich, the NBA's longest-tenured coach, accused Trump of already beginning to back off his controversial stances on immigration and Obamacare, cornerstones of his campaign.
"So was it a big fake? Which makes you feel it's even more disgusting and cynical, that somebody would use that to get the base fired up to get elected.
"What gets lost in the process are African-Americans and hispanics and women, and the gay population. Not to mention, the eighth-grade development age he exhibited when he made fun of the handicap person. I mean, come on. That's what a seventh-eighth grade bully does. And he as elected president of the United States."
Popovich said he "could go on and on" about Trump, but finished his nearly six-minute rant with this:
"That's what gives me so much pause and makes me feel so badly, that the country is willing to be so intolerant, and not understand the empathy," Popovich said. "Not understand other groups' situations. I'm a rich white guy, and I'm sick to my stomach thinking about it. I can't imagine being Muslim right now. Or a woman. Or an African-American. Or an hispanic. A handicap person. How disenfranchised they might feel.
"And for anyone in those groups that voted for him, it's beyond my comprehension how they ignore all that. My final conclusion is ... my big fear is: We are Rome."
You can hear the full audio, via the San Antonio Express-News, by clicking here.
PISTONS NOTES
SMITH, UDRIH KICK SLUMPS: The Pistons had a tough night shooting he ball Friday, but their point guards kicked their shooting slumps. Ish Smith went 6 for 10, scoring 12 points, after going 4 for 22 in his previous two games. Udrih, who was 1 for 13 in his last two, was 4 for 7 for 12 points. "It's all about wining and losing for me," Smith said. "It did feel good to see some go down, some of those mid-range shots. But for the most part, as a quarterback — as a point guard — coach gives you the football and tells you to go win the game. If you don't do it, you don't do your job."
ELLENSON SHINES IN D-LEAGUE DEBUT: Pistons rookie Henry Ellenson scored 19 points, on 6-of-14 shooting, and nine rebounds in 31 minutes Friday in his NBA Development League debut, a 134-111 win for the Grand Rapids Drive over Canton. Fellow rookie Michael Gbinije, who joined Ellenson in practice all week with the Pistons' D-League affiliate, scored eight points on 3-of-9 shooting with two rebounds and three assists in 32 minutes.
N'DIAYE WAIVED: Mamadou N'Diaye, the 7-foot-6 center who was briefly signed to the Pistons' training camp roster last month and then waived to Grand Rapids, was waived by the Drive on Thursday.