Donovan Mitchell Backs LeBron James Against Laura Ingraham’s ‘Shut Up and Dribble’ Comment

Utah Jazz guard Donovan Mitchell took to social media to support Los Angeles Lakers forward LeBron James by noting the hypocrisy of Fox News pundit Laura Ingraham during her Wednesday night program.

Ingraham vociferously defended controversial remarks by New Orleans Saints quarterback Drew Brees after having attacked James for offering his criticism of President Donald Trump in 2018. That hypocrisy led to Mitchell’s brief retort on Thursday.

Brees had expressed his opinion on the subject of kneeling during the playing of the national anthem, which led James and others to deliver stiff criticism regarding those comments.

Ingraham angrily defended Brees’ freedom of speech, a far cry from when she suggested that James “shut up and dribble” after his criticism of Trump.

The controversy comes in the wake of the death of George Floyd, which has sparked protests and rioting across the country. Floyd’s death in Minnesota was the direct result of police brutality, the subject that first sparked the kneeling controversy in 2016.

Ingraham’s support of Brees and her past dismissal of James recall previous accusations of racism that have been directed at her, which she has denied.

However, in the eyes of Mitchell, James and other African-American athletes, it’s clear that those denials carry little weight.

Neither Mitchell nor James will likely waste much more time debating Ingraham and her defenders, since both the Jazz and Lakers are preparing to resume the 2019-20 NBA season at the end of July.