LeBron James took to Instagram to respond to Laura Ingraham after the Fox News anchor took issue with his comments towards Trump.
- LeBron James took to Instagram to respond to Laura Ingraham after the Fox News anchor told the Cavaliers superstar to "Shut up and dribble" after comments he made about President Donald Trump.
- James posted an image of neon lights that read "I am more than an athlete" and captioned his post with #wewillnotshutupanddribble.
- Many other athletes across the sporting world had posted messages of support to James throughout the day.
LeBron James took to Instagram on Friday night to respond to Laura Ingraham of Fox News after the anchor told him to "Shut up and dribble."
James posted an image of neon lights that read "I am more than an athlete" and captioned his post with #wewillnotshutupanddribble.
The drama started when Ingraham devoted a segment of her show to criticizing James for comments he made on a video published on Uninterrupted. In the video, James and fellow NBA All Star Kevin Durant spoke with ESPN's Cari Champion about a range of subjects, including President Donald Trump and the current state of politics in the country.
"The No. 1 job in America, the point of person, is someone who doesn't understand the people, and really don't give a f--- about the people," James said.
It was not the first time James has made headlines for his political comments. Last year, James called the president a "bum" on Twitter, and spoke in detail about numerous political topics including ongoing player protests and suggested that Trump voters may have made a mistake in a wide-ranging press conference last September.
In her segment, Ingraham said, "It's always unwise to seek political advice from someone who gets paid $100 million a year to bounce a ball." She also suggested that James should be a "cautionary lesson" for kids who try to leave high school early.
Ingraham concluded the segment by saying James should stay out of political matters and instead, "Shut up and dribble," a reference to her book, "Shut Up and Sing," and a common construction she has used to criticize various people including actors, comedians, and athletes who make headlines for veering into the political realm.
Ingraham's comments were quickly derided across the sporting world, with a wide range of athletes taking to social media to defend James and call out Ingraham for what they perceived as ignorance and hypocrisy.
Now, James has responded, and made clear that he will not hesitate to speak his mind. As he said in reference to Trump last year, "I'm not gonna let, while I have this platform — to let one individual, no matter the power, no matter the impact that he should have or she should have, ever use sport as a platform to divide us."
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