LeBron James to Produce three-part Docu-Series ‘Shut Up and Dribble’ for Showtime

[The NZA]

LeBron James to Produce Docu-Series ‘Shut Up and Dribble’ for Showtime

Showtime has ordered a three-part documentary series on the changing role of athletes in the current political environment that boasts LeBron James among its executive producers.

Showtime president and CEO David Nevins made the announcement at the TCA summer press tour on Monday.

The series is titled “Shut Up and Dribble,” taken from conservative pundit Laura Ingraham’s remarks to James in February when players from the Golden State Warriors declined an invitation to the White House after the 2018 NBA Finals. The controversy serves as a prologue to the series as it chronicles the modern history of the NBA and its players, starting with the 1976 merger of the freewheeling ABA and the more conventional NBA of today.

The league soon became an incubator for many of its top athletes to grow their brands beyond the court, becoming powerful players in commerce and fashion, and transcending the game to become cultural icons. It will premiere on Showtime in October.

“If being a star athlete is inherently a political experience, ‘Shut Up and Dribble’ tells that complex and dramatic story from the past to the present and from the inside out,” said Nevins. “LeBron James is one of many competitors whose place in the spotlight has led not to silence but perspective, and he, Maverick Carter and Gotham Chopra have given us an important, insightful docuseries that should bring their fans and fellow citizens to a higher level of discourse, rather than the dismissal satirized in the title.”

[Da Cap'n 2099]

Will watch this.

[Donatella]

Never gave a shit about athletes until Kaepernick and now LeBron. I would watch this solely to support the track he's currently on. 

[The NZA]

yeah, ali was the one that i learned about really using your platform from - just so glad to see stuff like this is our generation 

[Donatella]

Yeah, really. What’s the problem? @the division of joy

[the division of joy]

Its just quite a recent thing to notice athletes using their position to try enact social change. Its been going on for a while over this side of the world.

[Donatella]

I guess that's how far removed I am from sports. If a player's social activism isn't headline news, it's not on my radar at all. 

 

¯\_(ツ)_/¯ Kaepernick is the first time I can remember seeing it everywhere. Like on the cover of non-sports related papers/magazines.

Edited August 8, 2018 by Donatella

[Da Cap'n 2099]

In @Donatella's defense, it had been A WHILE, since politics and sports really crossed paths in the US. Mostly, sports figures - for the last decade or more - were caught up in dumb scandals or were dancin with the "stars" and whatnot. Kaepernick was the first in a while to make headline news and for something that wasn't pointless. Obviously, there are exceptions, but no one will argue Kaep changed the game (heh) recently.