Source: Jason Miller / Getty
LeBron James once again has people attempting to silence him and his thoughts on the world at-large. Fox News host Laura Ingraham used James and fellow NBA superstar Kevin Durant as targets on her show Thursday night, telling both men to basically, “Shut up and dribble.”
James, of course has no problem speaking his mind. His 2017 tweet calling Donald Trump a bum was one of the most liked tweets in Twitter history.
On Cari Champion’s UNINTERRUPTED show, James didn’t back down from his comments about the man in the Oval Office.
“The climate is hot,” James told Champion in regards to being an athlete during these politically charged times. “The number one job in America, the appointed person is someone who doesn’t understand the people. And really don’t give a f*** about the people. When I was growing up, there was like three jobs that you looked [up to] for inspiration. It was the president of the United States, it was whoever was best in sports and it was the greatest musician.
“You never thought you could be them, but you can grab inspiration from them. … I never felt I could be the president of the United States, but I grabbed inspiration from that. And this time right now, with the president of the United States, it’s at a bad time. And while we cannot change what comes out of that man’s mouth, we can continue to alert the people that watch us, that listen to us, [that] this is not the way.”
Durant added, “When we’re talking about leadership, and what’s going on in our country, it’s all about leadership. And I learned that from basketball. I learned a lot of life skills from playing basketball. You need to empower people, you need to encourage people. And that’s what builds a great team. And I feel like our team as a country is not ran by a great coach.”
Ingraham, who works for Fox News and is blindly supportive of the President, used her platform to talk down on both LeBron and Durant.
“Must they run their mouths like that?” Ingraham said. “Unfortunately, a lot of kids — and some adults — take these ignorant comments seriously. Look, there might be a cautionary lesson in LeBron for kids: This is what happens when you attempt to leave high school a year early to join the NBA. And it’s always unwise to seek political advice from someone who gets paid a hundred million dollars a year to bounce a ball. Oh, and LeBron and Kevin: You’re great players but no one voted for you. Millions elected Trump to be their coach. So keep the political commentary to yourself or, as someone once said, shut up and dribble.”
Well, let’s fact check, shall we? 1. Nobody gets paid $100 million to play basketball, although there are plenty $100 million (and in some cases $200 million contracts). 2. LeBron didn’t leave high school a year early, he graduated. 3. Apparently, because you’re rich, your comments about the welfare of the country don’t matter, especially if you play sports.
To sum it all up, two basketball players with plenty of global standing in the world offered their opinion. Another opinion-haver, who feels that she is entitled to have that opinion more than they do, told them to shut up.
Congrats Laura, you played yourself.
