LeBron James , with Kevin Durant and Cari Champion, to make people angry, vengeful, bitter andemotional in every conceivable way about the state of the country, about his own role in impacting it and, of course, about the job the president is doing.What he never said was who was allowed to talk about it, and who should shut up about it. The response, from a
Baltimore Ravens Jersey Fox Newshost, was to tell him to shut up about it.Because thats what athletes and other celebrities are told all the time. And even with that, only certain athletes and celebrities.MORE: Theyre not the only people who get routinely get told that theyd better remember their place, that theyd better stay in their lane andthat theyd better stick to whatever role they occupy while making their living.Never stray from it into conversations where they dont "belong."In this host's words, "shut up and dribble."Its atried-and-true, terribly unoriginal tacticby certain segments of the population to silence di sent, to restrict real debate, to homogenize thoughts, opinions and policiesand to erase entire undesirable populations.James belongs to one of those populations, as does Durant, and throughout the excerpts of that interview, they talk about starting their lives one way and taking it in an
Mark Ingram II Jersey entirely different direction. Specifically, it took them to this weekend's NBA All-Star events, which puts him in the cro shairs of commentators who eagerly exploit people like them for their own purposes.Laura Ingraham says should "shut up and dribble" and leave political comments to people who didn't leave high school a year early. Thomas Bishop (@bishopk0s) That's likely just one of many motivations for the likes of that Fox News host, her employers, their supporters and the people they support. Their succe sand profitability dependon keepingthe likes of James and Durant right where they started and, just as important, to make sure everyone like them stays quiet and invisible.At least while theyre not serving their prescribed purpose in life, to entertain. What the two world-cla s athletes didnt do in the back of that car on camera was entertain the way they are required to entertain.Stick to sports. Stick to being silent. And stick to being, in so many words, dumb and sweaty.MORE: Understand, of course, that James doesnt have to provide credentials to be allowed to speak about the state of the
Jordan Lasley Jersey nation and the job performance of the president. The fact that so many people felt compelled to defend his intelligence, accomplishments or qualifications is as demeaning as it gets (and proved that the Fox News host's strategy worked).He doesnt have to show his resume, or his college diploma, or his high school diploma. (Speaking of that, do not ever forgetthathost told a bald-faced lie about him by saying he left"high school a year early to join the NBA." And never forgetshe didn't apologize for it .)It advanced her argument greatly to tell the world that LeBron, that guy who had the nerve to disparage the president, was a high-school dropout who lucked out andgot rich anyway and ought to be grateful hes not being forced to go back and do a Billy Madison before he can even show his face in public again. She apparently wont ever face consequences for slandering him in front of a national prime-time cable audience on a network that has the term "news"in its name.But for her intended audience, claiming LeBron didnt even get through high school gained her a lot of cache.Neverthele s, even if he had never started high school in the first place or, for that matter, had ever become renowned for basketball theres nothing she nor her network could do to stop him from trashing anyone in the seat of government any
Maurice Canady Jersey time he wanted to.But he is a sports superstar, and he referenced the power that position had for him and others as he was growing up and now (the same way, he pointed out, that being president did).You hold those positions, he said, and you can be inspirational and influential. He had a platform because of it. Its no le s a platform than the Fox host, who as far as anyone knows does not have to show her diplomas or resume before her show starts every night to be allowed to speak on hers.DEVENEY:Her platform does not cancel his. She used hers to try to cancel his anyway. In her mind, hers counts, and his doesnt.If any of this sounds familiar, its because "stick to sports"has become the go-to phrase for those who dont like certain athletes
Earl Thomas III Jersey functioning outside of the box the public shoehorned them into. Theyre resisting the athletes resistance.When in doubt, tell them theyre out of their lanes. Or that theyre not carrying the proper credentials, random, arbitrary and irrelevant as that concept it. "Show your papers,"this host is e sentially saying to James. Yes, that should send a chill through you. Just from a sports perspective, this is what was demanded of Colin Kaepernick two seasons ago, too.James never told anyone to shut up, about the life he lived but they didnt, the family hes raising but theyre not and the opinions on this country that he holds but they dont.For doing that on his platform, someone got on herplatform and told him he doesnt deserve his.As if a platform was hers to give. Hes got it, whether she likes that or not.A post shared by (@kingjames) on Feb 16, 2018 at 7:47pm PST
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