The Scoop

France Hands ‘Woke’ U.S. Men’s Olympic Basketball First Loss Since 2004 In Tokyo Games Opener

By • July 26, 2021 2:35 pm

The U. S. men’s Olympic basketball team, headed by “woke” coach Gregg Popovich, lost to France in their first game in Tokyo, their first loss in the Games since 2004.

According to sports media, Popovich, who has been at the center of the NBA’s woke movement, is on the brink of losing his job as a result of the upsetting defeat.

“Team USA men’s basketball was fried by the French in a stunning opening loss at the Tokyo Olympics. The Americans led Team France by seven with under four minutes remaining, but the French scored the next 14 points for a shocking 83-76 victory Sunday at Saitama Super Arena,” the New York Post reported Sunday.

The French team upset the Americans, handing them their first defeat since the United States’ 19-point loss to Puerto Rico in the 2004 Olympic opening. That was Team USA’s first defeat since 1992, when the International Olympic Committee allowed professional athletes to compete. In 1992, Team USA won the bronze medal, and it seems that the 2021 team will aim lower than prior teams.

The American squad was excused by Evan Fournier, a breakthrough star for Team France, who justified that a lot of Team USA players were freshly off the NBA Finals.

“They had a good run, but we just stuck with our game plan. Second, you have to be honest and look at their roster, they have guys who are pretty tired from playing in the NBA Finals. We know they aren’t at full strength yet, but it was a good win regardless for us. It’s a hell of a win, and our country is going to be extremely proud,” Fournier said.

Coach Gregg Popovich, on the other hand, was less charitable, blaming Sunday’s loss on expectations rather than the team.

“I think that’s a little bit of hubris if you think the Americans are supposed to just roll out the balls and win. We’ve got to work for it just like everybody else. And for those 40 minutes, they played better than we did,” Popovich said.

Sports analysts in the United States, on the other hand, blamed Popovich directly.

“If you want to call Gregg Popovich the greatest coach in NBA history, go right ahead, but let’s be as direct and to the point as Popovich usually is: He stinks at Olympic basketball,” USA Today’s sports reporter highlighted.

“If you want to know where to put the blame for Team USA’s 83-76 loss to France – America’s first Olympic men’s basketball loss in 6,176 days – look no further than the guy with five NBA titles who has been clueless from the very moment he was given the reins to USA Basketball, clueless in what he values with this roster. Clueless with an offense that unlocks very little of what his players do well. Clueless with the expectations he took on by following Mike Krzyzewski in this admittedly thankless job,” USA Today continued in its harsh assessment.

Popovich was “running out of time,” according to the Sporting News, and he “appeared, at times, like he hadn’t watched his own team.”

It’s possible that Popovich, who is best known for coaching the San Antonio Spurs, is just uninterested in foreign leagues. Given that he frequently criticizes the United States in his comments, calling the American flag “irrelevant” and “a symbol that people glom onto for political reasons,” he’s an odd pick to head an Olympic Team USA. He branded former President Donald Trump a “soulless coward” and the United States “an embarrassment to the world.”

_______________________________________________

Download ‘The Scoop TV’ video streaming app, the Conservative Alternative to Netflix!

Cameron Shizznit


LINKED IN Email
Read Cameron Shizznit's latest articles.