Chris Long, other athletes dunk on Fox News host's criticism of LeBron James
NBA superstar LeBron James said President Donald Trump “doesn’t understand the people and really don’t give a f*** about the people” in a thoughtful conversation. Fox News host Laura Ingraham called him and other athletes ignorant, actually fixing her mouth to say these words: “Shut up and dribble.”
Laura Ingraham says #LeBronJames should "shut up and dribble" and leave political comments to people who didn't leave high school a year early. pic.twitter.com/vwInOpZJZq
— Thomas Bishop (@bishopk0s) February 16, 2018
So, a host of athletes responded by dunking all over Ingraham, simultaneously demonstrating their ability to speak knowledgeably about current issues and illustrating the Fox News host’s ignorance.
The hardest dunk came from Philadelphia Eagles defensive end Chris Long:
I’ll be replying to my own tweet with a collage of your network allowing political commentary from a few folks. https://t.co/WUGl1WQSLE
— Chris Long (@JOEL9ONE) February 16, 2018
ANACONDA GUY pic.twitter.com/FwutOPeBPH
— Chris Long (@JOEL9ONE) February 16, 2018
MUSICIAN pic.twitter.com/vb2d9UIFRC
— Chris Long (@JOEL9ONE) February 16, 2018
BASKETBALL. COACH. pic.twitter.com/IA7aRH2GR5
— Chris Long (@JOEL9ONE) February 16, 2018
CHUCK. NORRIS. pic.twitter.com/DVVOnqYUil
— Chris Long (@JOEL9ONE) February 16, 2018
TED NUGENT #FOXNEWSSPECIALIST pic.twitter.com/xrPBiUDqFo
— Chris Long (@JOEL9ONE) February 16, 2018
CLINT EASTWOOD pic.twitter.com/Ly7raoKFX1
— Chris Long (@JOEL9ONE) February 16, 2018
I’m sure the network she works for has interviewed a bunch of athletes, just couldn’t find the screenshots quickly. The point is, what’s the prerequisite for who can talk politics? So, Fox News folks who agree with Laura… you okay with these segments?
— Chris Long (@JOEL9ONE) February 16, 2018
And if you reply “stick to sports,” you should probably tune of out Fox News because they’ve got karate guys talking climate change on there. (Which I’m cool with… it’s his right.) Unless it’s just about you needing to feel like you’ve got control of athletes like Lebron.
— Chris Long (@JOEL9ONE) February 16, 2018
Long’s long list of actors and musicians who Fox News happily paraded through its studios to discuss matters of consequence expertly rejected Ingraham’s hypocrisy back into her face. The list didn’t end there, either. Long’s followers helped him out, providing visual proof that romance novel cover model Fabio, Kiss lead singer Gene Simmons and, yes, athlete Curt Schilling also appeared on Fox News.
"Hi, I'm Laura Ingraham and on tonight's show, why can't CELEBRITIES just SHUT UP about politics? We'll find out w/our guests Scott Baio, Jon Voigt, Kid Rock, Chuck Norris, James Woods, Kevin Sorbo, Pat Sajak, Rob Schneider, the complete cast of Duck Dynasty & Donald Trump!"
— John Fugelsang (@JohnFugelsang) February 16, 2018
I, for one, can’t quite put a finger on what makes LeBron different from all those #FoxNewsSpecialists.
LeBron James spoke negatively about President Trump and Laura Ingraham told him to "shut up and dribble." Interesting how she wants to preserve our 2nd amendment rights but doesn't respect our 1st amendment rights. pic.twitter.com/rg3dWT3tIh
— Aldo Gandia (@AldoBarkeeper) February 16, 2018
As CNN’s Andrew Kaczynski posited, maybe Ingraham’s hatred for LeBron stems from the fact that her website once mistakenly (?) used a photo of Cleveland fans lining the streets at the Cavaliers’ 2016 championship parade to suggest Trump supporters were lining up for five miles to meet the president.
Long wasn’t the only athlete to score points over Ingraham on Friday. Here are a host of others:
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
Her ignorance and and jealousy are prevalent in the depiction of these two athletes. Sorry he didn’t leave a year early and she’s seems jealous that he makes more than her. To think that athletes shouldn’t have an opinion about politics is insane. @FoxNews should take action https://t.co/nVk1Y6w2Hs
— Dahntay (@dahntay1) February 16, 2018
This is unacceptable for Fox News not to take any action .. https://t.co/Ahz6axSQD4
— Jared Dudley (@JaredDudley619) February 16, 2018
So that’s how some of them see us huh ? https://t.co/Y26v5IVSSZ
— Thabo Sefolosha (@ThaboSefolosha) February 16, 2018
It turns out athletes know more than Ingraham thinks. This is what she wants though, right? Attention, provoking athletes, riling up a Fox News base that sees them as nothing more than mindless dribbling millionaires. It’s disgusting, and Jared Dudley is right: Fox News should take action. But they won’t.
More from Yahoo Sports NBA: