What better revenge on Laura Ingraham, who sneered that LeBron James should “shut up and dribble,” than a three-part Showtime documentary series with the same name, produced by James, about athletes that “have helped to bring about social change and make their own statements in the current political climate?”
You may recall that before Donald Trump called James “dumb,” Laura Ingraham suggested the same thing by saying he should “Shut up and dribble” after he and Kevin Durant criticized Trump after players from the Golden State Warriors declined an invitation to visit the White House:
INGRAHAM: 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 was not the first Fox News pundit to denigrate James as unworthy of commentary, as opposed to just disagreeing with him. In 2014, Geraldo Rivera lectured James for wearing a t-shirt with the slogan, “I can’t breathe,” that protested the death of unarmed African American Eric Garner at the hands of police, instead of “Be a better father to your son” or “Raise your children.” In June, “Diamond and Silk” accused James and other black athletes of “teaching men, especially our young black men … how to be cowards.” Fox & Friends host Abby Huntsman responded by saying they made “a great point.”
According to Showtime, Ingraham’s insult serves as a “prologue” to the series:
SHUT UP AND DRIBBLE takes its title from conservative pundit Laura Ingraham’s remarks to James in February after players from the Golden State Warriors declined an invitation to the White House after the 2018 NBA Finals. The controversy serves as a prologue to the series as it chronicles the modern history of the NBA and its players, starting with the 1976 merger of the freewheeling ABA and the more conventional NBA of today. The league soon became an incubator for many of its top athletes to grow their brands beyond the court, becoming powerful players in commerce and fashion, and transcending the game to become cultural icons. SHUT UP AND DRIBBLE charts this evolution through the experience of basketball players, who by taking control of their own destinies have helped to bring about social change and make their own statements in the current political climate.
Ingraham’s “Shut up” line comes from a book she wrote attacking celebrities for “subverting America” by, presumably, daring to engage in political speech.
I’ll bet she doesn’t use that line again.
Watch Ingraham’s “Shut up and dribble” attack on James below, from the February 15, 2018 The Ingraham Angle:
Laura Ingraham says #LeBronJames should "shut up and dribble" and leave political comments to people who didn't leave high school a year early. pic.twitter.com/vwInOpZJZq
— Thomas Bishop (@bishopk0s) February 16, 2018