Gregg Popovich became the latest figure to take a stand in defense of LeBron James against the notion that its not his place as a basketball player to speak politics, on Sunday, Feb. 25. In the process, he threw a shot or two at Laura Ingraham -- encouraging that the Fox News host might want to look in the mirror when condescending on a man who is larger than life, in the eyes of many.
"How many tens of millions of dollars he's given, tens of millions of kids that see him and are inspired by him. It's kind of like the Black Panther movie. How cool is that for kids to see and have that superhero? LeBron's been that for a long time," Pop told reporters after leading his San Antonio Spurs to a 110-94 defeat over James and the Cavs. "And for someone to be totally numb to that and attack him in such a childish way really speaks more volumes about that individual than it does, LeBron," he then exclaimed.
Popovich's response comes one week after Ingraham ripped into James and Kevin Durant over their criticism of President Trump during an episode of UNDEFEATED's Rollin with the Champion series. Ingraham would end a segment of her show that she dedicated to addressing their remarks by recommending that he "shut up and dribble." Many have lashed out at the conservative pundit for taking it where she did, with some going so far as to characterize her critique as implicitly racist.
Popovich was sure to stress that James being a professional athlete as opposed to an executive, politician, or journalist ought to have no bearing on right to speak his piece. And the same goes for any American of any stripe, according to Pop. "There really is a First Amendment and I can have opinions. As a coach, as a plumber, as an astrophysicist, as a lowly reporter. I can have whatever opinions I want and that's what's amazing about this when you look at this guy," he said.
Source: bleacherreport.com
