Earlier this week, LeBron James and Kevin Durant participated in an interview with Uninterrupted, where they criticized Donald Trump saying his presidency is discouraging for them and other people of color. Laura Ingraham of Fox News responded by saying James and Durant should “shut up and dribble.”

It’s hard to decide where to begin when looking at why this is such an incredibly foolish and ignorant statement.

First of all, the blatant hypocrisy of Fox News here must be addressed. In the segment, Ingraham says “it’s always unwise to seek political advice from someone who gets paid a hundred million dollars a year to bounce a ball.” Well, let’s take a look at some of the political commentators Fox has invited on — courtesy of Eagles defensive end Chris Long.

This is an unbelievably illustrious list that includes such visionaries as Kid Rock, Chuck Norris, Clint Eastwood, Curt Schilling and basketball coach Bobby Knight. It’s shocking Fox thought they had any room to talk.

Let’s also look at what Ingraham has done in the past. The more one looks at her background and the statements she’s made, the clearer it is that she is an absolutely reprehensible individual who should not be allowed within fifty yards of a microphone.

In 2013, she used a recording of a gunshot to cut off a sound bite of civil rights leader Rep. John Lewis — whose skull was fractured by a state trooper in Selma, Alabama in 1965. In the wake of the London Bridge terror attack, she stated on air that terrorism is “the price… to pay for multiculturalism.” And who could forget her infamous Nazi salute at the Republican National Convention just a month after that?

The point is, her response that the remarks were not racial in nature is absolutely unbelievable. It’s very important to emphasize this because James and Durant are both stellar examples of self-made men — the right-wing dream.

James’ mother was 16 when he was born, and by the time he was in fourth grade, he had spent two-thirds of his life without a home. Durant’s father left his mother when he was an infant, and he was mostly raised by his grandmother. Despite the hardships of their early lives, they worked incessantly and blossomed into the two best individuals at their craft in the world. Ingraham said “there might be a cautionary lesson in LeBron for kids. This is what happens when you attempt to leave high school a year early to join the NBA.”

Ignoring the fact that LeBron actually finished high school, what exactly is the lesson to be learned here? That if you work day in and day out, you can raise yourself out of the gutter and become one of the most successful people in the world? Doesn’t sound too bad to me.

However, the funniest part of her statement is the implication that individuals without a college degree aren’t qualified to comment on political matters. A study of the composition of the electorate in 2016 showed that white voters without a college degree comprised 48 percent of Trump’s voters, while they only accounted for 20 percent of Clinton’s votes.

Ingraham just insulted almost half of Trump’s voting base, which is the base she will need to count on if she makes a 2018 run for the Senate. Without even considering the fact that she just attacked the two of the highest-earning NBA athletes, one of whom directly called Trump “u bum” on Twitter, she can ill afford to already be eroding her support. 

LeBron James is the epitome of the American dream. He was dealt a bad hand in life, but through his own hard work and dedication, he rose up and became one of the best, if not the best, at his craft in history. In this age of social media and increasingly invasive journalistic techniques, an era where everything is eventually revealed for the world to see, he has stayed completely scandal free.

This actually surprised me so much, I had to do some digging; the only thing I could find is some controversy over an SUV his mother gave him in 2003, when he was still in high school. The worst moment in his entire career was when he announced that he was taking his incredible talents to work in Miami, through a TV special that raised over $3 million for charity.

LeBron James, in other words, has earned the right to respect.

Belittling him in such a demeaning way is not the same as engaging in a civil debate. It is a blatantly racist ad hominem attack, which is not difficult to see. Ingraham couldn’t refute his argument, so she attacked him instead. What sets his story apart from the sacred ideals that far-right mouthpieces, like her, hold? Nothing, except for the color of his skin. LeBron James absolutely should not “shut up and dribble.” Instead, he should keep using the platform he has worked so hard to gain.