World-renowned Duke basketball coach Mike Krzyzewski, known by many simply as “Coach K” delivered a scathing critique of President Obama’s military strategy against the Islamic State.
Coach K spoke to the Association of the United States Army, explaining his disagreement with the current White House strategy to combat ISIS.
“I know it’s upsetting to many of you when you hear ‘no boots on the ground,'” Coach K told the audience.
“That’s like saying I’m not going to play two of my best players,” Krzyzewski said in a criticism of Obama’s military strategy.
“That’s what you were trained to do, and for decades and decades, the fact that we’re a free country, and we don’t play home games here is a result of having boots on the ground,” he added.
Coach K continued his unfavorable assessment of the Obama administration’s Middle East strategy, likening the president’s “no boots on the ground statement” to a coach giving an opponent his game plan in advance.
“It’s about letting your opponent know that we are going to use our best players,” Coach K explained. “Now, whether you use them or not is up to the coach.”
“You never tell your opponent you’re not going to use–like I’m not going to play Grant Hill, J.J. Reddick, [Christian] Laetner. I’m not [going to say], ‘hey Spain, I’m not going to start LeBron and Kobe tonight.’ I don’t think you do that. Now how much I play them–Let the guy try to figure out how I’m going to play them.”
The famous Duke basketball coach thanked U.S. military personnel for their willingness to fight for the cause of advancing America’s freedoms.
“I want to thank you for the countless times your boots have been on the ground, and as a result, it’s given me an opportunity to live in a free country, to do what the hell I want to do, and to coach the United States’ team, the Duke team,” Coach K said.
“So on behalf of the ordinary guys, the ordinary people: we love you, and thank you,” he concluded.