Michael Jordan's ex-teammate Etan Thomas spotlights potential 'MAGA and Catholic conniption' with Barack Obama twist on viral Donald Trump pope attire

Current and former NBA players continue their online battle with President Donald Trump. This dynamic dates back to Trump's first mandate, and given the way the White House and the President handle their social media accounts, it's not likely to end any time soon.

The latest controversy stems from Trump sharing an edited picture of himself as the Pope, which he put out just hours after Pope Francis passed away.

With that in mind, former NBA player Etan Thomas took to Instagram to share an AI-generated image of Barack Obama as the Pope. He also called out Republicans and Catholics for their alleged double standards:

"Both MAGA and Catholics here and abroad would’ve simultaneously had a whole entire collective conniption fit if President Obama would’ve tweeted this right after the Pope passed away," the former NBA player captioned the post.

Needless to say, the picture and the caption sparked a heated argument on the post, although most of his followers agreed with him.

Thomas has been a very vocal critic of Trump's politics in the past, and he also authored a book about police brutality and white supremacy.

Etan Thomas calls out Tyrese Haliburton's dad

While he wasn't that popular for his game back in the day, the former Washington Wizards center has now built a strong platform as a motivational speaker, author and activist.

Thomas recently made the most of his platform to call out Tyrese Haliburton's father, John Haliburton, about his now-infamous altercation with Giannis Antetokounmpo.

Haliburton got in Antetokounmpo's face after the Indiana Pacers took the Milwaukee Bucks down in an epic Game 5, and the Greek forward pushed back and had to be restrained.

As a result, Haliburton will not be in attendance at his son's game for the foreseeable future. While Thomas doesn't agree with banning him permanently, he thinks this was the right decision and approach:

"Getting banned from your son's games for the foreseeable future is crazy ... but it is all his fault. I don’t think it should be a permanent decision, but I support setting a precedent. This standard should be applied to all levels of sports, including youth leagues," Thomas said.

At the end of the day, the players and their parents have to be held to a high standard as well, and as such, they have to lead by example.