NBA superstar LeBron James has called out Laura Ingraham’s double-standard regarding athletes and their political involvement. On Wednesday, the anchor addressed the controversy over New Orleans Saints quarterback Drew Brees’ recent remarks about the current protests taking place across the country, including kneeling during the national anthem. Her remarks, however, came in shape contrast to remarks he made about James back in 2018, when she told him to “shut up and dribble” after criticizing President Donald Trump.
“Well, he’s allowed to have his view about what kneeling and the flag means to him. I mean, he’s a person. He has some worth, I would imagine. This is beyond football, though,” Ingraham said about Brees, before turning her remarks to the protesters. “This is totalitarian conduct. This is Stalinist. And by the way, on the streets on New Orleans, they’re shouting ‘F— Drew Brees.’ That’s what this moment has done to the beautiful team spirit of the New Orleans Saints.” On Thursday, James tweeted that Ingraham’s remarks were part of “why the protesting is going on.”
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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???? 🤦🏾♂️. And to my people don’t worry I won’t stop until I see https://t.co/e4pJ0PvwJj
— LeBron James (@KingJames) June 4, 2020
In a follow-up tweet, James finished his thought, reading that “I won’t stop until I see change.” He also added the hashtag ‘#ShutUpAndDribbleThisPowerfulBlackManComingFullSteam.’ The Lakers forward has been outspoken about the death of George Floyd, whose death while being arrested by Minneapolis police on May 25 sparked the widespread protests. The following day, James posted a side-by-side image of Floyd’s arrest with Colin Kaepernick kneeling during the National Anthem, an act of protest that got him blacklisted from the NFL.
Brees’ initial comments came out during an interview with Yahoo! Finance on Wednesday, where he was asked about the current protests across the U.S., which are currently on their eighth day. In response, he also addressed the act of kneeling as a form of nonviolent protest. “I will never agree with anybody disrespecting the flag of the United States of America or our country,” Brees said, before explaining that his two grandfathers served in WWII. Following Brees’ remarks, he since issued an apology where he said he was “always an ally, never an enemy.”
