Athletes are calling out Laura Ingraham for telling LeBron James to “shut up and dribble” 

Miami Heat’s Dwyane Wade: “They use to try and hide it.. now the president has given everyone the courage to live their truths”

Written by Bobby Lewis

Published

Sarah Wasko / Media Matters

Fox News host Laura Ingraham lashed out at the Cleveland Cavaliers’ LeBron James and the Golden State Warriors’ Kevin Durant for discussing President Donald Trump’s racist and divisive politics, saying, “Must they run their mouths like that,” and calling James’ statement “barely intelligible."

On the February 15 edition of Fox News’ The Ingraham Angle, Ingraham claimed James -- three-time NBA champion with an estimated net worth of $86 million -- is a “cautionary lesson” for kids: “This is what happens when you attempt to leave high school a year early to join the NBA.” Ingraham belittled the athletes for being “paid $100 million a year to bounce a ball,” and told them to “keep the political commentary to yourself, or as someone once said, shut up and dribble.”

But Ingraham has no apparent problem with celebrities like Scott Baio opining on politics (Baio has an article tag on Ingraham’s LifeZette website). She herself called Clint Eastwood's 2012 Republican National Convention speech delivered to a chair “terrific.” Fox News Channel has also repeatedly invited conservative celebrities to push their political narratives, including Baio, actors James Woods, Antonio Sabato Jr., Jon Voight, and Fabio Lanzoni, musician Kid Rock, and Clueless actress/former Fox News contributor Stacey Dash. And prior to getting into politics, Trump used to regularly phone in on Fox & Friends for years -- an arrangement the former host of NBC’s Celebrity Apprentice has credited for winning him the presidency.

Ingraham’s attacks on James and Durant echo years of racist and racialized commentary on her radio and television programs. After James previously said that people who voted for Trump made a mistake, Ingraham attacked him, saying he was “so ignorant,” and she has called kneeling NFL players “punks,” adding, “that’s the old-fashioned Connecticut Yankee in me.” Ingraham even observed the 50th anniversary of the March on Washington for Jobs and Freedom with audio of gunshots and a discussion about black crime rates.

Following Ingraham’s latest rant, multiple athletes took to Twitter to call her out for her “absurd” rhetoric.

Miami Heat’s Dwyane Wade

Philadelphia Eagles’ Chris Long

Baltimore Ravens’ Tony Jefferson

Professional soccer player Alejandro Bedoya

Arizona Cardinals’ Josh Bynes

Jacksonville Jaguars’ Donald Payne

Atlanta Falcons’ Adrian Clayborn

Utah Jazz’s Thabo Sefolosha

Sacramento Kings’ Garrett Temple

Dallas Cowboys' Jourdan Lewis

Tennessee Titans’ Joshua Carraway

Indianapolis Colts’ Quincy Wilson

Olympic gold medalist Claressa Shields

Former NFL quarterback Sage Rosenfels

Former NFL player Geoff Schwartz

Former NFL player Justin Forsett

Former NFL player Larry Johnson

Professional rugby player Danny Cipriani

Texas A&M’s Caleb Chapman

University of Texas’ Malik Jefferson

Clemson University’s Amari Rodgers