Powerful insights from Kareem Abdul Jabbar
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"Kareem’s op-ed on racism resonated hugely with our readers as few pieces have done. More than 3 million people read the piece on our website."
Sue Horton OpEd Editor LA Times
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“We are deranged,” laments the narrator of Karl Shapiro’s poem “Auto Wreck” as he stands with other rattled witnesses beside a bloody car accident. “Our throats were tight as tourniquets,/Our feet were bound with splints.” That’s how most Americans feel following the mass shooting at an Orlando nightclub. We are deranged, the walking wounded—collateral damage Read More »
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SGranitz/WireImage (Kareem Abdul Jabbar (left), Muhammad Ali) The basketball hall of famer and Ali’s friend writes that no one understood sports as entertainment or knew how to bring politics into it better than the heavyweight champion, who died Friday. Professional sports today is as much show business as it is athletics. It is a form Read More »
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When I first met Muhammad Ali, he was performing magic tricks on Hollywood Boulevard. I was a freshman at UCLA walking along the street with two of my school buddies when we saw him strolling with a small entourage, doing sleight-of-hand illusions for fans who came up to him. This was 1966 and Ali, only Read More »
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Michael Buckner/Getty Images for Fight Night; Lou Rocco/ABC via Getty Images (Muhammad Ali (left), Kareem Abdul-Jabbar) “I may be 7’2″ but I never felt taller than when standing in his shadow.” Kareem Abdul-Jabbar paid tribute to his “friend and mentor” Muhammad Ali following the three-time world heavyweight champion’s passing on Friday at the age of 74. Read More »
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During my more than 50 years in the public eye, I have met hundreds of renowned celebrities, artists, athletes, and world leaders. But only a handful embodied the self-sacrificing and heroic qualities that defined my friend and mentor, Muhammad Ali. A master of self-promotion, he declared early in his boxing career, I am the greatest! Read More »
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Combining his personal experiences as a black Muslim male with statistical data, research, and a bit of humor, Abdul-Jabbar (On the Shoulders of Giants: My Journey Through the Harlem Renaissance, 2010, etc.) explores the divisions in the United States along lines of race, class, religion, and gender, and he offers concrete, easily implemented solutions to fix these ongoing problems…
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Not content with being an NBA legend and columnist for the Washington Post, Kareem Abdul-Jabbar is adding a new career to his resume: comic book writer, as he explores one of his lesser-known passions, the mythology of Sherlock Holmes, and particularly the career of Holmes’ brother, Mycroft…
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There have been a lot of great basketball players, but few have achieved the status of Legend. Kobe Bryant became a legend the old-fashioned way, through dedication to practice, commitment to his team, enthusiasm for the game, and loyalty to the fans. To become a legend, it’s not enough to be an exceptional player, you Read More »
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Basketball legend and cultural commentator Kareem Abdul-Jabbar explores the heart of issues that affect Americans today, from race and economic inequality to the business of sports and the media’s influence on society.
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The U.S. president and a prima ballerina. Throw in a rabbi and a priest and you’ve got the start of a classic watercooler joke. But add first black American President and first black female principal dancer for the American Ballet Theatre and it’s no longer a joke but an uplifting ideal for a new generation Read More »
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