CLEVELAND _ It's been over a week since Fox News host Laura Ingraham suggested LeBron James should "shut up and dribble" instead of continuing his harsh criticism of President Donald Trump.
But San Antonio Spurs coach Gregg Popovich jumped into the fray on Sunday, praising the Cavaliers star for his willingness to speak up on social issues before the two teams met in a nationally televised game at Quicken Loans Arena.
"Think about when he came into public view, how young was he? And to this day he hasn't missed a step, he hasn't fallen off the ledge and he's been a brilliant example for millions of kids, especially kids with lesser opportunity and haven't had the same advantages as others," Popovich said. "They see in this guy, somebody who has consistently exhibited excellence in the work place and gives them a voice and lets them know that you can speak about anything.
"There really is a First Amendment and you can have opinions _ as a coach, as a plumber, as an astrophysicist and a lowly reporter. They can have whatever opinions they want, and that's what's amazing about this when you look at this guy, how many millions of dollars, tens of millions of dollars he's given, tens of millions of kids that are inspired by him."
Popovich compared James to the main character in Marvel's new Black Panther movie.
"How cool is that for kids to see that, to have that superhero? Well, LeBron's been that for a long time," Popovich said. "For somebody 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's very, very special. We should all be very proud that we have someone like that who's willing to speak about a variety of topics and you listen to them all."
Popovich took more than one shot at Ingraham.
"I don't pick and choose what LeBron should talk about any more than any talking heads who try to pick and choose," he said. "To me, when I heard about that it was just an unbelievable show of arrogance for a talking head to try and tell someone else if they can speak, what they can speak about and when and where to do it. It's just ludicrous, but to not have a feel for who this guy is."
