About a month ago, Laura Ingraham, a Fox News employee, went on her show, The Ingraham Angle, and decided to take aim at one of the most polarizing figures in the world: Lebron James.

What she said was one of the most absurd and foolish things I have ever heard.

In an interview with Kevin Durant and ESPN’s Cari Champion, James discussed his family, personal struggles and the struggles of being a black man in America. He also discussed President Trump and gave a negative review of Trump’s first year in office, calling the president’s statements ‘laughable and scary.’

What Lebron said didn’t bother me. Every man, woman and child should have a right to their opinion. They also have a First Amendment right, which, to be short, gives freedom of speech to every citizen.

What Ingraham said did bother me.

In response to his statements, Ingraham called James’ comments “barely intelligible and ungrammatical.”

“Must they run their mouths like that?” Ingraham asked. “…it’s always unwise to seek political advice from someone who gets paid a hundred million dollars a year to bounce a ball.”

Ingraham later said, “Millions elected Trump to be their coach. So keep the political comments to yourself, or as someone once said, shut up and dribble.”

Shut up and dribble.

That line stuck with me. It hurts me to look at it.

Is this what we’ve come to? Telling an athlete to shut up because we don’t agree with their political views?

For starters, just because a person plays a sport for their profession does not mean they are not entitled to an opinion. James could have confessed how much he loves Trump and what he’s done for the country. And he would’ve had every right to do so.

“Unfortunately a lot of kids and adults take these comments seriously,” Ingraham said. “Here might be a precautionary lesson in Lebron for kids. This is what happens when you attempt to leave high school a year early to join the NBA.”

Ingraham commenting on Lebron’s literacy and education was out of line and irresponsible. If a viewer listened to what she said and had no previous knowledge of James, one might think that James is uneducated, inactive in the community and is full of himself.

In reality, James has always been one of the most well-spoken, family-driven and charitable men in professional sports.

Between his salary, investments and endorsement deals, James’ net worth is right around $400 million. And he doesn’t keep it all for himself. James owns a few different companies, giving jobs to hundreds of different people. He also has given millions of dollars to different nonprofits and charities.

But what I find most important, is that James has given over $41 million of his own money to put  over 2,300 students from various backgrounds through school.

Isn’t that ironic? The uneducated, unintelligible and ungrammatical athlete educating thousands of underprivileged kids.

Explain that to us, Ms. Ingraham.