Free Republic

Kareem Abdul-Jabbar (UCLA ‘69) writes: "When Will Smith stormed onto the Oscar stage to strike Chris Rock for making a joke about his wife's short hair, he did a lot more damage than just to Rock's face. With a single petulant blow, he advocated violence, diminished women, insulted the entertainment industry, and perpetuated stereotypes about the Black community. That's a lot to unpack. Let's start with the facts: Rock made a reference to Smith's wife, Jada Pinkett Smith, as looking like Demi Moore in 'G.I. Jane,' in which Moore had shaved her head. Jada Pinkett Smith suffers from alopecia, which...

NBA great Kareem Abdul-Jabbar writes in Jacobin arguing that athletes like Kyrie Irving aren’t making a “personal choice” by refusing the COVID vaccine — they’re jeopardizing the public health of all through their platforms. =========================== I'm a huge fan of LeBron James, both as one of the greatest basketball players ever and as a humanitarian who cares about social injustice. I have written his praises many times in the past and undoubtedly will in the future. I admire him and have affection for him. But this time, LeBron is just plain wrong — and his being wrong could be deadly,...

Former professional basketball player Kareem Abdul-Jabbar said Thursday on “CBS Mornings” that promoting the need for people to get the COVID vaccination was an extension of Black Lives Matter. Co-host Vladimir Duthiers said, “You’ve called for the NBA to insist that all players and staff be vaccinated. And if they refuse, you believe they should be removed from the team. Why do you feel so strongly about that?” Abdul-Jabbar said, “I think that when we ignore a pandemic that is killing people just because some people don’t feel like doing some research, I can’t go along with that. This COVID...

Basketball legend and longtime activist Kareem Abdul-Jabbar says NBA players who have refused to get vaccinated for COVID should be "disciplined." The NBA said the league can't mandate players to get vaccinated unless the players' union approves it. About 90% of NBA players have been vaccinated against COVID-19. In an interview on CNN, Abdul-Jabbar, who has been advocating for others to get the COVID vaccine, said the league should step in. "I think they should be disciplined," he said Monday. "I don't think they are behaving like good teammates or good citizens." Earlier Monday, Brooklyn Nets superstar Kyrie Irving said...

LeBron James says he got the COVID vaccine despite initial skepticism: "I felt like it was best suited for not only me but my family"LeBron James on Tuesday said he received the COVID-19 vaccine despite his initial skepticism. The Los Angeles Lakers star spoke with reporters on the Lakers' annual media day for the upcoming season, saying he and his family got the vaccine after he did his own research. "I think everyone has they own choice — to do what they feel is right for themselves and their family and things of that nature," he said. "I know that...

Former professional basketball player Kareem Abdul-Jabbar said Friday on MSNBC’s “The Beat” that Major League Baseball moving the All-Star Game from Atlanta, GA following the passage of a new voter law “means something to everybody.” Melber asked, “Kareem, what does it mean for Major League Baseball to take a stand like this right now?” Abdul-Jabbar said, “I think it’s very significant, Ari, because it shows that this means something to everybody. This is something that we all want to see end. Voter suppression is not what democracy is about. We all want to see it end. By Major League Baseball...

Former NBA star Kareem Abdul-Jabbar is attacking conservative and anti-woke celebrities, demanding that social media giants step up censorship because these stars are tweeting “irrational and harmful opinions to millions.” In The Hollywood Reporter, Abdul-Jabbar singled out conservative Hollywood stars Jon Voight and James Woods. He also targeted celebrities who refuse to submit to woke ideology, including Harry Potter author J.K. Rowling.. “Social media companies have begun slapping warnings on some messages that are false, incite violence or cause harm to society. But this needs to be done with more consistency and vigilance,” Abdul-Jabbar wrote. “Many Americans imbue stars with...

The son of legendary NBA player Kareem Abdul-Jabbar was reportedly arrested in California this week after allegedly stabbing his neighbor multiple times. Adam Abdul Jabbar, 28, was arrested on one count of assault with a deadly weapon this week for a stabbing incident that took place in San Clemente Tuesday night, TMZ Sports reported, citing police. According to the report, law enforcement responded to the area at around 10 p.m. where they found the suspect who was “arrested without incident.” A police spokesperson described the suspect as the “neighbor of the victim.”

Hall of Fame center Kareem Abdul-Jabbar is experiencing a very similar phenomenon shared among many during the coronavirus outbreak. That would be none other than sports withdrawal. Abdul-Jabbar, 72, shared his thoughts on going through the absence of sports. All major leagues in the United States have suspended operations. The NBA and NHL stopped their season with less than one-third of the season to go. MLB halted spring training and the hiatus has now extended into the original Opening Day date. Meanwhile, the NCAA canceled the annual March Madness national championship. The actor and author penned a column in The...

NBA legend and Trump hater supreme Kareem Abdul-Jabbar leveled a double-barreled attack on the president in recent days. In The Guardian, he claimed the NBA is providing a patriotic response to the pandemic, but President Trump is promoting his own self interests. In The Hollywood Reporter, Abdul-Jabbar says the president reminds him of the Nazi's exploiting people of color in the Amazon streaming series Hunters. Abdul-Jabbar also promotes former President Barack Obama as a beloved leader and savages Trump as a leader forming a legacy of shame. "The Nazis in Hunters are powerful people in business and government, devoted to...

Former US Attorney General Eric Holder is a huge fan of NBA hall of famer Kareem Abdul-Jabbar. So much so that Holder used Abdul-Jabbar's birth name, Lew Alcindor, as an alias for his official Department of Justice (DOJ) email account, raising more questions about the email practices of top Obama administration officials, and about the ability of US government agencies to track down correspondence in response to Freedom of Information Act (FOIA) requests. Related: A Judge Has Scolded the State Department for Blowing the Deadline on the Clinton Emails The Lew Alcindor revelation was made in a February 16 letter...

On Wednesday, recent Islamic convert and former NBA star Kareem Abdul-Jabbar wrote a column for The Washington Post in which he referred to 2016 GOP presidential front-runner Donald Trump as “[t]he biggest enemy to the principles of the Constitution.” His proof? Trump’s alleged “vendetta against the press,” i.e., Trump’s willingness to take Fox News host Megyn Kelly to task for asking unfair questions AND Univision political activist Jorge Ramos to task for rudely interrupting his press conference. The proud Islamist also excoriated Trump for the “absurd, uninformed or just plain incorrect” statements — all of them in fact correct —...

<p>Twelve-year-old Sophie Flores thought her dog would love the Sears rubber basketball she bought at a yard sale near her Pollock Pines, Calif., home. When Sophie and her mom got back home, the dog was drooling to get his mouth all over the ball, reports the Sacramento Bee. Then her dad noticed something. "There was writing on it," John Flores told the newspaper. "I told Sophie, 'Wait a minute. Let me see that.'"</p>