Basketball legend, actor, and activist Kareem Abdul-Jabbar is no stranger to controversy. He has been openly active in discussions of race in America since the 1960s. Abdul-Jabbar spoke with NPR’s Steve Inskeep to discuss the Colin Kaepernick conversation happening in America right now.
Mr. Kaepernick is trying to get people to understand that he is concerned about a very important issue, which is the unnecessary killings of so many young black men. He's really concerned about that and he went to a great length in order to call attention to that issue. ... There are a lot of people who don't like his tone, or maybe the venue that he chose to make his statement. But the fact that he is concerned about a real issue I think is a very admirable thing, and I hope that he will continue to find ways to bring this message across to people in a positive way.
I remember when a lot of Vietnam vets came back, they burned the flag. And it was not to denigrate America, but to protest the fact that we were fighting an unjust war and people were dying unnecessarily. And that requires a very dramatic statement. And they used their opportunity to make that statement that way.
Abdul-Jabbar discussed his own activism and the heavy criticisms he received for similar reasons, when he was a professional athlete, he was told he was privileged and shouldn’t “rock the boat.” When asked about Donald Trump telling Kaepernick to find another country to live, Abdul-Jabbar slammed that door shut:
You know, that's his opinion. I notice that he wasn't very eager to go over to Vietnam. So I don't think he can throw any stones here in this instance.
Kareem Abdul-Jabbar is in a whole other league than the likes of Trump.