Shut Up and Dribble? Never.
A voice is something we take for granted. I’m not talking about the normal voice we use every day, I’m talking about speaking out for something you believe in. For professional athletes, the ridicule they receive for speaking out for what they believe in, is 10 times worse. The platform professional athletes have a luxury that most people will never have. I believe athletes should always speak up for what they believe in, no matter the subject.
Correspondingly, LeBron James recently commented on President Donald Trump. “Trump is someone who doesn’t understand the people and really don’t give a fuck about the people,” James said.
But, this isn’t James’ first time openly speaking out on his feelings towards the President. Last year, James called President Trump a “bum,” via Twitter.
Laura Ingraham, a Fox News reporter, was fed up with the future Hall of Famer’s comments. She stated that James’ view on President trump was a “barely intelligible, not to mention ungrammatical take on President Trump.” But Ingraham doesn’t stop there.
“This is what happens when you attempt to leave high school early to join the NBA,” Ingraham said. “It’s always unwise to seek political advice from someone who gets paid $100 million a year to bounce a ball.”
LeBron shouldn’t shut up and dribble and that goes for the rest of the NBA players also. These professional athletes mean too much to the younger generation; they inspire children who want to be just like them with not only their actions, but their words too. Ingraham is trying to put not just LeBron, but all professional athletes in a box to where they can’t have a voice about not even just politics, but just things going on in our society.
After hearing her remarks, NBA players from around the league spoke up on the situation. Golden State Warriors forward, Kevin Durant called Ingraham’s comments racist. “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,” Durant said.
I agree with Durant’s statement. Although Ingraham’s comments might not have been racially driven or racist at all, her comments had a racist undertone. The fact of the matter is, a white news reporter comes after an African American professional athlete because she doesn’t believe he is qualified enough to have an opinion about politics.
James was speaking on how President Trump doesn’t know the people of his country. He only empathizes with the wealthy, not the people of the inner city.
Unlike Trump, James has lived at the bottom and top of the totem pole. James grew up in the inner city of Akron, Ohio, so he can understand and relate to people from different backgrounds. James has lived at the bottom and top of the totem pole.
Great leaders are servant-leaders, people who serve and lead. Being a servant-leader is the only way one can effectively lead a society. Understanding where people come from and how they live will only help one become a better leader. But, President Trump doesn’t know where the people come from or how bad it is in some cities; that’s what James was speaking on.
Now, let’s say for instance, the roles are reversed. Lebron James, an African American news reporter makes the same comments about Laura Ingraham, a white professional women’s basketball player. If this was the case and James made those comments about Ingraham, the world might flip upside down. Everyone would’ve been calling James a racist and a pig. Not only because of the skin color, but because she is a woman. “How could you talk to a woman like that?” Enough with everyone trying to constrain athletes to just the sport they play. Realistically, James probably has a bigger following than the entire Fox News company itself. He inspires so many people across the world on a daily basis.
After he was named MVP of the 2018 NBA All-Star game, the NBA on TNT crew asked him about Ingraham’s comments. “”I will not shut up and dribble. I owe it to my peers. I owe it to my fans. I owe it to the youth,” James said. “I owe it to y’all and everybody that has laid the path for me to get to this point.”
James was that inner city kid, whose mom worked two jobs so he would be able to play the game he loved. Sacrifice is the word James used when talking about his past. James is that hope for the children of not just Akron, but everywhere. He gives them hope. He wants children everywhere to know that he was in their shoes when he was younger. He’s been inspiring me ever since he entered the league 15 years ago. He showed me that no dream is too big; with hard work and commitment, you can do anything you put your mind to. By doing this, he’s showing the children that there is a way out and that you can do whatever you want to do, as long as you put your mind to it and never give up; or in this case, never let anyone tell you to “shut up and dribble.”
