[Miami] Heat's Riley offers political views

[Freddie Stubbs]

BY BARRY JACKSON
[e-mail]
In discussing the Heat's decision to honor U.S. soldiers at home games, team coach and president Pat Riley offered pointed views today when asked about the situation in Iraq.

''My personal opinion,'' Riley said, is ``what's going on in our country right now is not going to stop until the election because the Democrats, or the other side, or the nay-sayers simply are going to drive it right into the ground and become so negative with what the administration is doing until there's an election to make their point. That won't help anybody.

``That's not going to help the political process. It definitely doesn't help the soldiers because there is such a division over here. My concern is about them. . . .

'As far as what's going on with the government and with the political process and the Democrats and Republicans, I think all of them talk a great game but they're not really doing anything other than trying to oust the guy who's in charge. That' s all they care about. They will say they care about the soldiers, but they're not doing anything for them.''

more: http://www.miamiherald.com/416/story/40315.html

[bullimiami]

1. maybe he should keep his mouth shut instead of proving hes got little else

but basketball in his head.

[saltpoint]

2. They fire basketball coaches when the win-loss records start to skew toward

the negative side of the ledger.

Same with politicians, although maybe there's more filters to go through. Not sure.

Anyway, I have a strictly partisan view of the Bush administration, and would like to see it behave like a world citizen.

It doesn't.

[Bozita]

3. a real double dribble

[underpants]

4. Eh I don't blast the guy for this

He clearly is using this to ramp up support for the soldiers.

There are a lot of people who go by the "they are all the same" "they don't do anything anyway" type stuff -though Pat should know better than that- Rove et al take full advantage of that or at least they have. They sell the cowboy jock tough guy (not not not) and people buy into it due to indifference.

But the Dems aren't the ones driving it into the ground. The politics of personal destruction is completely one sided.

[bluestateguy]

5. Riley's donor record

http://www.newsmeat.com/sports_political_donations/Pat_Riley.php

[rebel with a cause]

6. He still comes across as a talking head for bush.

There are people that are moderate/conservative democrats that think bush shits gold. Sorry about that, just the way I feel about this.

[trumad]

7. I didn't take that at all---

The dude donates to Democrats, not repubs.

It sounds like he simply hates politicians.... whats wrong with that?

[rebel with a cause]

8. What I see that is wrong with what he said.

Is that he didn't just say he hated politicians, he was angry at people that disagreed with bush. that was my take on it, and if I am wrong, then I am wrong, but that is how I read it.

He is unimportant to me anyway, so I won't argue the point.

[judaspriestess]

9. he doesn't want to sound partisan

and have the msm circle jerk on him. I think he should have not said anything at all. Either go full throttle or don't bother, he just threw up a brick