Unsurprisingly, Gregg Popovich is taking LeBron James’ side when it comes to speaking out.
The San Antonio Spurs coach called criticism of James by Fox News host Laura Ingraham “ludicrous,” stating that we should be “proud” to have someone of James’s stature speaking out.
“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,” Popovich said of Fox News host Laura Ingraham, via ESPN’s Dave McMenamin. “It’s just ludicrous, but [also] to not have a feel for who this guy is [is disappointing].
“I mean 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. 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, it’s kind of like the ‘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. 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’s comments aren’t surprising given the opinions he’s voiced before, but they’re on the money. James has every right to say what he wants, no matter what anyone else things.
