A day after a Fox News host said that Kevin Durant and LeBron James should “shut up and dribble,” a host of NBA players said they would do no such thing.
Dwyane Wade, Jaylen Brown, as well as Durant and James themselves, all spoke up in reaction to the words of Laura Ingraham, who believes that basketball players shouldn’t voice their opinions on matters outside of basketball. Durant and James had been critical of president Donald Trump in a video hosted on James’ platform, Uninterrupted.
Durant spoke with Sam Amick of USA Today:
Q: So how did her comments hit you when you first heard them?
A: “It didn’t hit me. Ignorance is something I try to ignore. That was definitely an ignorant comment. I do play basketball, but 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. I can’t focus on that. I think we’re doing some good things out here, using our platform, and I think what me and LeBron did with Uber (and UNINTERRUPTED) the other day when it came out, I thought it was great. I thought a lot of people enjoyed it. I got so many encouraging texts from it. A lot of people enjoyed what we had to say, a lot more than just politics, which we didn’t even talk about. It’s just life that we talked about. My whole thing is I can’t dwell on that, and I can’t let that distract me from the real goal at hand, which is to continue to encourage and empower people around the world.”
James made it clear how he felt in reaction to a tweet by Amick:
#wewillnotshutupanddribble https://t.co/LyenGRKTUE
— LeBron James (@KingJames) February 17, 2018
Wade also tweeted his response:
They use to try and hide it.. now the president has given everyone the courage to live their truths. https://t.co/OwLSMHIG0m
— DWade (@DwyaneWade) February 16, 2018
And Brown talked with the Boston Herald‘s Steve Bulpett:
Brown struck back hard on the notion that players should play and keep their opinions zipped in designer brand duffel bags.
“Who’s to say because you’re a basketball player that you can’t chime in on other subjects, other important topics of the day?” Brown said yesterday. “I’ve always disagreed with that (stay quiet directive), and I’ll disagree with that until the day I die.”
The 6-foot-7 wing isn’t just here to play the game and smile for the international media cameras. He’s meeting with retired legends to pick their brains, and Brown, who once interned at a venture capital firm, is leading an event today where young players gather with such investors to get educated on what to look for when putting their money on the line.
…
“I feel like, as an athlete, that if you’re educated on a topic and you believe something, you should be able to say it. Certain things are touchy, but in my opinion, that’s what we’re here for. Everybody has their cameras here. Everybody wants to hear what we’ve got to say, so I feel obligated to enlighten people on the things that I’ve learned in my research.”
As for how he chooses his topics, Brown said, “The ones you know about. It’s as simple as that. You know, not talking about something you have no idea what you’re talking about. If you’re informed in a situation and your perspective can be beneficial, say what’s on your mind. I don’t believe in holding your tongue, especially if it’s something that you can directly benefit from or something people need to hear, especially young people that are watching and looking up to you.”
