Milwaukee Bucks coach Doc Rivers blasted Donald Trump’s controversial Madison Square Garden rally as ‘atrocious’ ahead of the upcoming US presidential election next week.
The event drew ire from Democrats and Republicans alike after comedian Tony Hinchcliffe called Puerto Rico a ‘floating island of garbage’ and also took aim at black, Palestinian and Jewish people.
And when asked about his own recent participation in a Kamala Harris ad, Rivers used the MSG rally to underline the significance of the election.
‘I just think this election is really important. If you saw Madison Square Garden, I mean come on now,’ he told reporters on Monday.
‘… That was atrocious, what we saw. If you’re a black man or a woman, or brown, Latino or Puerto Rican. They hit everybody. And it was awful.’
Donald Trump’s rally at MSG has been criticized by Democrats and Republicans alike
Bucks coach Doc Rivers blasted the event as ‘atrocious’ in a press conference on Monday
After Hinchcliffe’s set, the Trump campaign distanced itself from the Puerto Rico remark, with campaign adviser Danielle Alvarez said telling Fox News Digital: ‘This joke does not reflect the views of President Trump or the campaign.’
Rivers’ remarks on Monday came after he appeared in an ad alongside potential First Gentleman Doug Emhoff, the husband of Harris.
‘We have 30 seconds for one last play,’ Rivers said in the ad, which takes place on an outdoor court and is based around a fictional pep talk ahead of Tuesday’s election.
‘Doug, you’re going to travel all these swing states , right?’
Rivers then gives some more instructions to his grassroots team of Harris supporters before turning to the camera and imploring viewers to get active.
‘And all of you: You must head to IWillVote.com to make your plan to vote,’ Rivers said.
The longtime NBA coach, who led the Celtics to a title in 2008, is far from the only NBA coach to hit out against Trump.
Just last week, legendary Spurs coach Gregg Popovich called Trump a ‘pathetic whiner’ and ‘damaged man.’
Tony Hinchcliffe, 40, took to the podium at Madison Square Garden on Sunday to deliver a series of jokes which included lewd and racist comments about Latinos, Jews and Black people
Rivers’ comments came after he appeared in a Kamala Harris ad with potential First Gentleman, Doug Emhoff
‘He was never accepted, he was treated like a fool, like a clown, and now he is able to give the finger to the world because of his position now, and that’s what he’s doing,’ Popovich said. ‘He’s getting back at everybody because he’s so small that he’s gotta go after everybody.’
Warriors coach Steve Kerr has also been a frequent critic of Trump’s.
Speaking at the Democratic National Convention in August, he said, ‘I believe that leaders must display dignity. I believe leaders must tell the truth. I believe that leaders should be able to laugh at themselves.’
‘I believe leaders must care for and loved the people they are leading. I believe leaders must possess knowledge and expertise but with the full awareness that none of us has all the answers and in fact some of the best answers often come from members of the team.’
For his part, Trump has previously accused Popovich and Kerr of ‘pandering’ to China by failing to criticize the Beijing regime.
‘They talk badly about the United States, but when it talks about China, they don’t want to say anything bad,’ Trump said in 2019. ‘I thought it was pretty sad, actually.’
The election will be held next Tuesday, November 5.
