Fear or Intuition: What It’s Like Covering Coach Popovich as a Spurs Media Member
Kiel: This season, you’ve gotten Pop to speak on major social topics, including racism and President Trump, and his answers to your questions, personally, have went viral. Did you approach him in a specific way to get him to open up?
Young: I think long and hard about how I’m going to approach those type of questions, honestly. The funny thing is when it came to the first question about Trump that he was asked this season, he completely downplayed it and told the reporter who asked the question, ‘I’m here to talk about basketball.’ I remember thinking to myself, ‘This can’t be; Pop is usually great at speaking up on social issues, and people really want to hear from him.’ So I brainstormed some ideas on how to get Pop to answer questions about the social topics at hand, and one thing that popped into my mind was the culture of San Antonio. The city is full of minorities – African Americans and Mexican Americans – and I think, with everyone here being die-hard Spurs fans, they’re looking to hear a word from him so that’s the angle I took. I kinda phrased my ‘Trump’ question in a way that made him feel the need to answer as if he’s speaking for the people of the city. So I remember asking him, ‘Does he feel the need to speak up for the people of San Antonio?’ and my follow-up question was something about the results of the election and then he just went off. I think he felt a responsibility in that moment.
Kiel: Why do you think you have so much success in getting Pop to speak than others?
Young: I have the courage and the know-how to ask him anything. If I feel really strongly about a topic and I think Coach Pop is a good person to speak on it, then I feel as if it’s my duty to ask. I feel as if I represent the readers and followers of the Spurs. I’m not chasing headlines or clicks. This is why I, sometimes, go to different sports bars during the Spurs games to get a feel of what the people are saying. I love asking him questions that people want answers for.
Kiel: Is there a particular moment that sticks out in regards to your relationship with Coach Pop?
Young: There was one particular moment that will always stand out to me, and it happened when I wasn’t even covering the Spurs. It probably didn’t mean anything to him, but it meant a lot to me. After the Spurs won the title in 2014, I left and took a job in Portland, covering the Trail Blazers. During the pre-game media session, there were tons of media people huddled around him, waiting to ask him questions. I was off to the side because I didn’t have anything to ask him at the moment. He then looked at me before answering any of the reporters’ questions and yelled, ‘Get over here!’ After that, he began fielding questions. I don’t necessarily know the meaning of that moment – could’ve been a respect thing, I don’t know – but to me, it solidified that he knew me. Since then, I’ve really studied the questions people ask him and tried my best to deliver.
Kiel: Outside of basketball, do you have a relationship with Coach Pop?
Young: Not really. But there was a non-basketball instance involving him that sticks out to me. My grandmother passed away after Game 1 of the 2014 NBA Finals, so I had to go back to Philly and skip Game 2 in San Antonio. After the funeral, I hopped on a plane and went straight to Game 3 and I got there right at tipoff, which means I missed media availability prior to the game. I remember seeing him before Game 4 during the shoot around and he looked at me and said, ‘Where the hell were you?’ I told him that my grandmother had passed. He immediately put his arm around me and began consoling me. To me, it just showed a side of him that you don’t see a lot. Pop is big on family and cares about so much outside of the game. It meant a lot to me.
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