Column: LeBron James Receives Criticism For Political Comments

As the successor to Michael Jordan, (No disrespect Kobe fans, the Black Mamba is a Legend, but at the time of the last NBA finals without LeBron, Instagram hadn’t even been created yet.) there are a lot of areas that LeBron James is subject to criticism – his finals record, his involvement in GM affairs, his hairline and his tendency to argue with officials are some favorites among LeBron haters.

As the most-followed player in the NBA, these criticisms are mostly fair and expected. But throughout the entirety of his 15 year career in the NBA, the four-time NBA MVP has worked hard to place himself in a position where his reputation as an individual is virtually uncriticizable. His career in the spotlight really dates back 18 years, considering he was put on the cover of Sports Illustrated as a sophomore in high school.

But that didn’t stop Fox News host Laura Ingraham from committing an ad hominem attack against LeBron on Feb. 15 during her nightly segment on Fox News, in which she made these comments:

“I’m numb to this commentary. Must they run their mouths like that? Unfortunately, a lot of kids and some adults take these ignorant comments seriously. Look, there might be a cautionary lesson in LeBron for kids. This is what happens when you attempt to leave high school a year early to join the NBA. And it’s always unwise to seek political advice from someone who gets paid $100 million a year to bounce a ball. Oh and LeBron and Kevin? You’re 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.”

Ingraham’s segment was in response to comments LeBron made in a podcast from a series titled “Rolling with the Champion” from the Uninterrupted Podcast Network. The series is led by ESPN Cari Champion as she Ubers around her guests and discusses basketball and culture. The Feb. 15 episode featured LeBron and last year’s NBA Finals MVP Kevin Durant, to discuss the 2018 All-Star weekend, the pressures of being a top-athlete, social injustice and the current climate in politics, according to Uninterrupted’s website.

Although the podcast is over 16 minutes long, Ingraham focused in on two clips that were each shorter than 20 seconds. These are the quotes from LeBron that Ingraham used in her show:

“The number one job in America, the point of person, is someone who doesn’t understand the people. And really (doesn’t) give a **** about the people.”

“It’s not even a surprise when (Trump) says something. It’s like laughable. It’s laughable and it’s scary.”

Ingraham mocked LeBron and called him barely intelligible and ungrammatical for his remarks, as the ticker on the bottom of the screen was titled “LeBron’s R-rated politics” and later “jocks on politics.”

If I was going to acknowledge Ingraham’s remarks, I would remind her and her team to do their fact-checking, considering LeBron did finish high school, and the podcast wasn’t affiliated with ESPN. But I won’t even bother addressing her because the entirety of the segment about LeBron was for the sole purpose of capitalizing on his remarks to gain more views. And in the end it worked. Clips of the segment have been watched millions of times on Twitter, the segment has been in sports news cycle for the past few days, and Ingraham re-addressed her remarks on her nightly segment during the following night, and also tweeted at LeBron “Hey King. Come play on my Court next week. You’re invited on the show anytime.”

So I won’t address that, nor will I defend LeBron’s reputation, because it speaks for itself. LeBron came from a poor, single-parent home and according to Forbes, he is now currently the world’s second highest paid athlete. He has also pledged $41 million that will send over 1,100 students to college with full-ride scholarships. This is just one example of the many ways that LeBron has given back to the community. You can follow his foundation’s work more closely at LeBronJamesFamilyFoundation.org.

I don’t always agree with LeBron’s politics and I don’t condone swearing, but I can respectfully disagree with him without attacking his character. I can also respect his ability to have an opinion and his right to vocalize his opinion.  What’s ironic is that this isn’t even a case of the “stick to sports” debate. This was a podcast that was literally about culture. It wasn’t broadcasted on ESPN, it wasn’t a postgame interview. It was a separate platform that is designed to allow athletes, who are indeed private citizens with rights (gasp), the opportunity to share their opinions.

People only want athletes to stick to sports when they don’t agree with their views. It’s a prime example of how, as a society, we lack civil discourse . The notion that athletes are just entertainers and that they are of no use apart from their physical capabilities is absurd and alarmingly outdated. The idea that sports could ever be fully separated from politics is laughable. I believe that in most instances, there is a time and a place to share your opinion, and that doesn’t necessarily have to be on center stage – but I’m also very grateful for multiple instances when people didn’t stick to sports.

I’m thankful for Jim Valvano’s speech at 1993 ESPY awards. I’m thankful for Tim Tebow being unapologetic about his faith throughout his career. I’m thankful for the multiple Philadelphia Eagles players who proudly spoke about their faith last season and created a 15-day devotional titled “Professional Football Players on Humility and Surrender.” And I’m very thankful for Jackie Robinson breaking the color barrier in 1947.