LeBron James Slams Laura Ingraham for Drew Brees Support After Telling Him to 'Shut Up and Dribble'

LeBron James is calling out Fox News personality Laura Ingraham for once saying athletes should keep their political opinions to themselves after her recent defense of Saints quarterback Drew Brees.

On Thursday the NBA star, 35, shared a resurfaced clip on Twitter featuring The Ingraham Angle host slamming James for speaking out against President Donald Trump and opening up about racism.

"You're great players, but no one voted for you," Ingraham said in the February 2018 segment. "Millions elected Trump to be their coach. So keep the political commentary to yourself, or as someone once said, 'Shut up and dribble.'"

The clip, originally shared by Complex Sports this week, was combined with a recent broadcast in which Ingraham, 56, defended Brees for his comments regarding the #TakeAKnee movement in the NFL, just over a week after the killing of George Floyd in police custody.

"He's allowed to have his view of what kneeling and the flag means to him. I mean, he's a person. He has some worth, I would imagine," Ingraham said about Brees. "This is beyond football though."

The juxtaposition showed the TV news host's varying perspective on which celebrities deserve to have a platform to speak on politics.

In James' retweet of the Ingraham clip, he said that the comparison of bias couldn't be clearer to him.

"If you still haven’t figured out why the protesting is going on. 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???? 🤦🏾‍♂️," he wrote. "And to my people don’t worry I won’t stop until I see CHANGE!!! #ShutUpAndDribbleThisPowerfulBlackManComingFullSteam"

In an interview this week, Brees, 41, faced criticism for his comments about the #TakeAKnee movement, saying the act is "disrespecting the flag."

James, who has defended Colin Kaepernick's movement in the past, and several star athletes like Aaron Rodgers and members from Brees' Saints team called out the quarterback for his comments.

“WOW MAN!!” James wrote in response to Brees on Twitter. “Is it still surprising at this point. Sure isn’t! You literally still don’t understand why Kap was kneeling on one knee?? Has absolute nothing to do with the disrespect of [the flag] and our soldiers (men and women) who keep our land free."

"A few years ago we were criticized for locking arms in solidarity before the game," Rodgers chimed in. "It has NEVER been about an anthem or a flag. Not then. Not now. Listen with an open heart, let’s educate ourselves, and then turn word and thought into action."

Brees soon issued an apology, admitting his statements "lacked awareness and any type of compassion."

"In an attempt to talk about respect, unity, and solidarity centered around the American flag and the national anthem, I made comments that were insensitive and completely missed the mark on the issues we are facing right now as a country," he wrote in an Instagram post on Thursday.

"I recognize that I should do less talking and more listening…and when the black community is talking about their pain, we all need to listen," he continued. "For that, I am very sorry and I ask your forgiveness."

He also released another apology in the form of a video on Instagram.

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Ingraham then responded to James calling her out, saying on Thursday that she believes "we are all children of God, regardless of our racial or political differences and therefore must be treated equally."

"Every American, every American has the God-given right to speak his mind on any issue," she said. "I think in order to heal and shed light on gross injustices, our country needs more dialogue, not less. And we need more respect, less retribution."

The Fox host added, "This is a moment when we should be listening and learning. All of us."

In February 2018, Ingraham also defended her comments at the time, saying there was "no racial intent in my remarks."

To help combat systemic racism, consider learning from or donating to these organizations:

• Campaign Zero (joincampaignzero.org) which works to end police brutality in America through research-proven strategies.
• ColorofChange.org works to make government more responsive to racial disparities.
• National Cares Mentoring Movement (caresmentoring.org) provides social and academic support to help black youth succeed in college and beyond.

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