When basketball fans think of Ray Allen, they will remember his playing time as a deadly 3-point shooter who is responsible for one of the most clutch shots in NBA Finals history. Allen has not played in the league in over a decade and now spends his time running businesses and charities. Unfortunately, he is encountering criticism with racist undertones from those who only see him as a basketball player.
Recently, Allen took to social media to fire back at people telling him to “shut up and dribble," a derogatory phrase aimed at black NBA players who speak on politics.
“Damn, I thought we got past the shut up and dribble people,” Allen said. “Shut up and dribble, you don’t know anything about politics. Shut up and dribble.”
The phrase first entered the national spotlight in 2018 when Fox News host Laura Ingraham criticized LeBron James for talking about politics in an ESPN interview alongside Kevin Durant.
"It's always unwise to seek political advice from someone who gets paid $100 million a year to bounce a ball," she said. "Keep the political comments to yourselves. ... Shut up and dribble."
The harsh comment drew a response from James and others, lambasting Ingraham for her stance.
Now, Allen — James’ former teammate with the Miami Heat — is battling the same vitriol over seven years later.
“Let's just break this whole shut up and dribble down,” Allen said. “I don’t play basketball anymore, so you just only see me as somebody that needs to be dribbling.”
“That’s my only worth or my only contribution to society. Not to mention, I have businesses that I pay a lot of taxes on, I paid a lot of taxes in my career. Obviously, I own homes in different places where I have to pay taxes, and I have charities.”
“So government and the things that happen in local government affect me,” Allen added.
Some of Allen’s business ventures include real estate investments and overseeing a restaurant chain founded by his wife, Shannon.
“I am listening to all these right-wing extremists talk about DEI and empathy is bad. You know, that’s how you feel. I don’t agree with you, but I’m not going on nobody’s wall and cursing them out.”
“We need to have civil discourse,” Allen added. “I don’t mind having a conversation, but you guys have to be willing to listen instead of trying to tell people that they stink or they suck, or you need to shut up and keep dribbling.”