LeBron James Calls Out Laura Ingraham For Defense Of NFL Quarterback Drew Brees
NBA superstar LeBron James called out Fox News host Laura Ingraham Thursday afternoon for her support of NFL quarterback Drew Brees, who has come out in favor of Donald Trump’s opposition to athletes taking a knee to protests police violence, Raw Story reported.
“If you still haven’t figured out why the protesting is going on,” James tweeted in response to a clip of Ingraham. “Why we’re acting as we are is because we are simply F-N tired of this treatment right here! Can we break it down for you any simpler than this right here???? And to my people don’t worry I won’t stop until I see CHANGE!!!”
In the first segment in the video, Ingraham attacked James, noting he gets paid millions per year to “bounce a ball.” The host called James and fellow NBA star Kevin Durant “great players” before claiming that Americans elected Trump to “be their coach.”
“So keep the political commentary to yourself or, as someone once said, ‘Shut up and dribble,'” Ingraham concluded.
After Ingraham’s comments, the video showed another segment in which she defends Brees’ right to express his opinion on the issue of kneeling during the national anthem.
Laura Ingraham to LeBron and KD: “Shut up and dribble!”
To Drew Brees: “He’s allowed to have an opinion.” ? pic.twitter.com/PtEBHdPh7o
— Complex Sports (@ComplexSports) June 4, 2020
In a piece for Forbes, Alex Reimer noted Ingraham’s perceived double-standard. According to Reimer, the “stick to sports” argument she used is typically applied selectively to African American athletes and sports commentators who speak in support of racial justice.
In particular, Reimer claimed that former ESPN anchor Jemele Hill was attacked for speaking about politics on her personal account by some of the same people who were outraged that the network’s former analyst, Curt Schilling, was booted from the network for social media postings. The Forbes writer also pointed out that Ingraham previously attacked James’ criticism of Trump as “ungrammatical” and “unintelligible.”
As reported by Bleacher Report, James on Wednesday blasted Brees’ controversial remarks on kneeling in protest of police brutality.
“You literally still don’t understand why Kap was kneeling on one knee??” he tweeted.
James explained that kneeling has “absolutely nothing to do with” disrespecting the American flag and the soldiers who fought for the country’s freedoms, as the New Orleans Saints quarterback suggested. The basketball star stated that his father-in-law was one such soldier, claiming that the Army veteran did not find Colin Kaepernick’s peaceful protest offensive.
Brees said that kneeling was disrespectful to the American flag before later apologizing for his comments. He claimed to be an ally of the African American community and noted his large platform and the responsibility that comes with its reach.
