LeBron thanks Ingraham for the attention
LOS ANGELES — Though many found Laura Ingraham’s comments about LeBron James’ worthiness to publicly discuss politics and politicians to be offensive, James on Saturday thanked her for them. To James, they brought a spotlight back to the issues he wished to addressed.
With that, it was clear he had no intention of following the Fox News host’s directive to “shut up and dribble.”
“We’re back to everything I’ve been talking about the last few years,” James said at the NBA’s AllStar media day. “It lets me know everything I’ve been saying is correct. For her to have that type of reaction, we will definitely not ‘shut up and dribble.’ I mean too much to society. I mean too much to the youth. I mean too much to so many kids that feel they don’t have a way out.”
James had criticized President Trump on a podcast for The Undefeated, prompting Ingraham to question James’ place to be critical, comments Kevin Durant, who was also on the podcast, labeled racist.
“That’s ignorant,” Durant said on Saturday. “We’re all advancing as people. You don’t pigeonhole anybody. We all have our own opinions and we should voice them.
“I feel everybody has their voice. Especially with our own platforms, we can use our voices for good. It’s not just me. I feel everybody in this room has a voice and it’s getting louder and louder every day. We have to speak what we believe in. We have to speak our truths. We have to keep it real out here because there’s a lot of fake (stuff) going on.”
Message for kids
James did not say Ingraham’s comments were racially motivated, but said there was a racial element to them.
“I think the engine that she sits behind doesn’t have a great rap sheet when it comes to race in our country,” James said. “There’s been many people that’s not African American that spoke upon the same issues that I spoke upon, and they didn’t say anything to them.
“You know, to be an African-American kid and grow up in the inner city with a single parent, mother, and not being financially stable and to make it where I’ve made it today, I think I’ve defeated the odds. I want every kid to know that. And I want everybody to know that the youth, they can do it as well.
“That’s why I would not just shut up and dribble, because I mean too much to my two boys here, their best friend right here, my daughter that’s at home, my wife, my family and all these other kids that look up to me for inspiration who are trying to find a way out, finding some leeway on how they can become as great as they can be and how those dreams can become a reality. She did the best thing to help me create more awareness.
“I do it because I’m passionate about it. I do it because I know that this is bigger than just me personally.”
Silver applauds players
NBA commissioner Adam Silver applauded players for speaking out.
“I’m incredibly proud of our players for using the platform they have as players in the NBA and on social media to speak out on issues that are important to them,” Silver said. “And I was proud of LeBron and Kevin’s response to the comments that were made about them.
“It’s not lost on me or anybody in this room that there is enormous amount of racial tension in this country, enormous amount of social injustice, and I do see a role for this league in addressing those issues.”