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Popovich praises LeBron's courage to speak on social issues

CLEVELAND — San Antonio coach Gregg Popovich hopes LeBron James never stops speaking up.

Long an admirer of Cleveland's superstar, Popovich praised James for his activism and for being a role model to "millions" of kids. Popovich also defended James' right to speak after he was recently criticized by Fox News commentator Laura Ingraham, who said the NBA's most high-profile player should "shut up and dribble" after he criticized President Donald Trump.

"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 before the Spurs faced James and the Cavaliers.