Laura Ingraham came for the King and missed.
One thing many conservative (racist) white talking heads seem to hate is when Black people, especially those with influence, start to speak their mind and demonstrate their intellect. They immediately get uncomfortable and start to spew their condescending, racially infused statements in an attempt to coral them and stifle their insightful and truthful words.
The most recent example is Fox News’ Laura Ingraham, who targeted LeBron James and Kevin Durant for their stance on social issues, telling them “LeBron and Kevin: Youre 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. But then she quickly turns around and invites James onto her show to debate, showing the need for Black star power to drive her ratings up.
Well Laura, LeBron is too smart for that play, so you just became Cain in “Menace II Society,” LeBron is Bill Duke’s character and you just got straight ethered with his response during NBA All Star Weekend.
The Shadow League on Twitter
LeBron James speaks on the ignorant “Shut up and dribble” comments https://t.co/bnfuWmuDxU
“So thank you, whatever her name is. I don’t even know her name.” said King James to the packed crowd jarring for position at his table.
But LeBron didn’t stop there. Thanks to Ingraham, he was afforded the opportunity to expand upon his feeling regarding today’s culture in the day of Trump, especially as it pertains to raising Black children.
NBA TV on Twitter
I get to sit up here and talk about what’s really important.” @KingJames comments on athletes speaking out about social issues at #NBAAllStar Media Day. https://t.co/sTnUZcrPrj
LeBron was not alone in responding, as Durant also addressed Ingraham’s comments in an interview with USA Today Sports.
“Ignorance is something I try to ignore. That was definitely an ignorant comment. I do play basketball, but I am a civilian and I am a citizen of the United States, so my voice is just as loud as hers, I think or even louder. I cant focus on that. I think were doing some good things out here, using our platform, and I think what me and LeBron did with Uber (and UNINTERRUPTED) the other day when it came out, I thought it was great. I thought a lot of people enjoyed it. I got so many encouraging texts from it. A lot of people enjoyed what we had to say, a lot more than just politics, which we didnt even talk about. Its just life that we talked about. My whole thing is I cant dwell on that, and I cant let that distract me from the real goal at hand, which is to continue to encourage and empower people around the world.
Our President made it cool for people to kind of speak their truth and kind of show what theyre really about. Its cool to uncover that now. So we know its coming. We know if we use our voice and its not what some people may agree with, of course theyre going to say ignorant things like that. But we are the American dream. We come from nothing. We rose up in our profession to be able to take care of our families forever. I think everybody in the country would want to do that, so I think more people want to be us than I dont even know her name, whoever that lady is.
So for those who wish to take on LeBron, Durant or any other Black athlete, before you do so, remember the old saying: “You come at the king, you best not miss.”
