ESPN and left-wing politics go hand in hand.

Anti-Trump athletes, coaches, and reporters expect a free pass.

But this Trump-hating coach got the shock of his life when he turned on ESPN.

Team USA lost their first two exhibition basketball games before the Tokyo Olympics.

Prior to that, Team USA was 54-2 in exhibition games since NBA players began participating in the Olympics back in 1992.

ESPN NBA analyst Kendrick Perkins singled out Trump-hating coach Gregg Popovich for criticism after Team USA lost to Nigeria and Australia, saying Popovich was out-coached in both games.

“We have to address the elephant in the room, and it’s Gregg Popovich. In these last two games (loses to Australia and Nigeria) he has been getting out-coached. He has done a poor job of having these guys prepared for these games on the defensive side of things,” Perkins began.

Perkins added that Popovich’s behavior after the loss to Australia – where he berated The Athletic’s Joe Vardon in a press conference after Vardon asked a legitimate question about Team USA struggling with teams they used to blow out – for special criticism.

You can watch the video at the bottom of this article.

“To take it to another level, I just don’t understand . . . and I’m not going at Gregg Popovich as a person. I’m talking about as a basketball coach and (the responsibilities associated with) being a basketball coach. Just like we hold players accountable with the way they address the media, how sensitive the players are. That interview that he did last night, and the disrespect he showed towards (the reporter) last night was flat out ridiculous. The (reporter) was doing his job,” Perkins added.

Popovich routinely bullies the media.

He makes a point to treat their questions as stupid and give curt or ridiculous answers.

But no one calls out Popovich because of his pedigree of winning five NBA titles as well as his strident left-wing politics.

That thankfully changed.

Sports with Balls will keep you up-to-date on any new developments in this ongoing story.

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