Gregg Popovich defends the Spurs organization when asked about Josh Primo

Prior to Friday’s game against the Clippers, Gregg Popovich was asked by San Antonio Express News’ Tom Orsborn when he found out about former player Josh Primo’s multiple incidents of exposing himself to former team phycologist Dr. Hillary Cauthen. While Pop said he couldn’t answer because the issue is now a legal matter, he did offer an extended response, sticking to the organization’s reputation as the gold standard and stating that he trusts everything was handled appropriately, while expressing sympathy for all parties involved.

Pop is definitely in an awkward situation right now. He most assuredly has been told by the team lawyers not to say anything, and it’s worth noting that Dr. Cauthen and her lawyer, Tony Buzbee, stated they did not believe Spurs HR when she was told back in June that Pop was aware of the situation and that she had his support. It’s just extremely hard to believe that if Pop knew, he wouldn’t have allowed this go on (at a minimum, Primo probably would have been on leave from the team to “get help”), he wouldn’t have agreed to extend Primo’s contract and wouldn’t have heaped so much praise on him. That’s just not who Pop is.

For now, we only know what has been presented, which is Dr. Cauthen’s full story and a “we disagree” rebuttal from the Spurs. Whatever happened and which party is at fault will have to be determined in the courts, but as Pop said, we just need to let the legal process play out while continuing to support the innocent players who are still on the team.