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News > World

Kareem Abdul-Jabbar Stands in Solidarity with Colin Kaepernick

  • The NBA’s all-time leading scorer has come out in support of Colin Kaepernick.

    The NBA’s all-time leading scorer has come out in support of Colin Kaepernick. | Photo: Vimeo / Flickr

Published 31 August 2016
Opinion

“What should horrify Americans is (that) … we still need to call attention to the same racial inequities,” said Abdul-Jabbar.

Some of the most iconic Black athletes in the U.S. have come out in support of the embattled San Francisco 49ers quarterback, Colin Kaepernick who sat out the national anthem Friday before a preseason pro football game Friday.

RELATED:
Making a Stand by Sitting Down: Black Athletes and the Flag

Kaepernick’s protest against racism and police brutality has widened even further the racial divide across the nation, with many white people railing on the athlete for his "unpatriotism." But Monday, Jim Brown, often referred to as the best NFL running back of all time, said that he supported Kaepernick.

"He's within his rights and he's telling the truth as he sees it," Brown said. "I am with him 100 percent."

And Tuesday, pro basketball's all-time leading scorer, Kareem-Abdul-Jabbar, published an opinion article in the Washington Post, endorsing Kaepernick’s protest, writing that “the U.S. Constitution’s insistence that all people should have the same rights and opportunities and that it is the obligation of the government to make that happen.”

Abdul-Jabbar compares Kaepernick to Army Reserve 2nd Lt. and pole vaulter Sam Kendricks, who during the 2016 Rio Olympics “was sprinting intently in the middle of his pole vaulting attempt when he heard the national anthem playing. He immediately dropped his pole and stood at attention, a spontaneous expression of heartfelt patriotism that elicited more praise than his eventual bronze medal.” To Abdul-Jabbar, both are displays of patriotism “that should make all Americans proud.”

RELATED:
Kaepernick and Lochte’s Actions Underscore US Double Standard

In his view, “both athletes are in fine company of others who have shown their patriotism in unconventional ways.”

Indeed, the roster of Black athletes who have protested the country's systemic racism dates back nearly as far as sport itself, and Abdul-Jabbar makes mention of the likes of Muhammad Ali, Tommie Smith and John Carlos. He also describes how in 2014 “NBA players LeBron James, Kyrie Irving, Jarrett Jack, Alan Anderson, Deron Williams and Kevin Garnett and NFL players from the Rams and Browns wore ‘I Can’t Breathe’ shirts during warm-ups for a game to protest police killings of unarmed blacks.”

Still, Abdul-Jabbar stands with Kaepernick not simply because it was an act of patriotism, but because he is just as appalled with the state affairs for people of color in the United States as is Kaepernick.

“What should horrify Americans is not Kaepernick’s choice to remain seated during the national anthem,” he states, “but that nearly 50 years after Ali was banned from boxing for his stance and Tommie Smith and John Carlos’s raised fists caused public ostracization and numerous death threats, we still need to call attention to the same racial inequities. Failure to fix this problem is what’s really un-American here.”

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