Getty LeBron James, Lakers
It appears that LeBron James is fed up.
James had a strong reaction to the words of Saints quarterback Drew Brees on Wednesday, when Brees came out against NFL players kneeling for the national anthem. Brees later apologized for his comments.
James wrote on Twitter yesterday, in response to Brees, “Is it still surprising at this point. Sure isn’t! You literally still don’t understand why (Colin Kaepernick) was kneeling on one knee??”
James again lashed out on Thursday, this time at Fox News host Laura Ingraham, an old nemesis. Ingraham defended Brees’ right to his own opinion.
Speaking on her show, Ingraham said, “He’s allowed to have his view about what kneeling and the flag means to him.”
That was some kind of last straw for James.
“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????”
He added, “And to my people don’t worry I won’t stop until I see CHANGE!!! #ShutUpAndDribbleThisPowerfulBlackManComingFullSteam”https://twitter.com/KingJames/status/1268616817544531969
LeBron James and Laura Ingraham Have History
The backstory between James and Ingraham goes to 2018, just before the All-Star game in Los Angeles.
At the time, James was speaking publicly about the politics of the country, especially about the approach of President Donald Trump. Ingraham, a Trump backer, famously told James, on her show, “keep the political commentary to yourself, or as someone once said, ‘Shut up and dribble.'”
At the All-Star Game that followed just days later, James got the last laugh.“We will definitely not shut up and dribble,” he said. “I mean too much to society, too much to the youth, too much to so many kids who feel like they don’t have a way out. I had no idea who she is … until now. So she won in that case.”
Drew Brees Had a Controversial Interview
Brees got into hot water on Wednesday when he told CNBC that he considered kneeling during the anthem, “disrespecting” the flag. Brees’ full comments:
I will never agree with anybody disrespecting the flag of the United States of America or our country. Let me just tell what I see or what I feel when the national anthem is played and when I look at the flag of the United States. I envision my two grandfathers, who fought for this country during World War II, one in the Army and one in the Marine Corp. Both risking their lives to protect our country and to try to make our country and this world a better place. So every time I stand with my hand over my heart looking at that flag and singing the national anthem, that’s what I think about. And in many cases, that brings me to tears, thinking about all that has been sacrificed. Not just those in the military, but for that matter, those throughout the civil rights movements of the ‘60s, and all that has been endured by so many people up until this point. And is everything right with our country right now? No, it is not. We still have a long way to go. But I think what you do by standing there and showing respect to the flag with your hand over your heart, is it shows unity. It shows that we are all in this together, we can all do better and that we are all part of the solution.
That drew the ire of many in the sports world. But so did Ingraham. Pointing out the hypocrisy of defending Brees, who is white, while telling James, who is black, to shut up and dribble, Buccaneers receiver Mike Evans wrote, “People like her are f*cking disgusting.”
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