Kareem-Abdul Jabbar showed support and appreciation for San Francisco 49ers quarterback Colin Kaepernick‘s decision to not stand during the national anthem.
The all-time NBA scoring leader, who was a social-revolutionary figure among the likes of Bill Russell, Jackie Robinson and the late Muhammad Ali — was thoughtfully observant in his piece in The Washington Post.
“One of the ironies of the way some people express their patriotism is to brag about our freedoms, especially freedom of speech, but then brand as unpatriotic those who exercise this freedom to express dissatisfaction with the government’s record in upholding the Constitution,” he wrote.
Abdul-Jabbar commended Kaepernick's valiant act to stand for the things he believes in, especially in today's media, where everything is criticized and over-analyzed.
“One sign of the maturation of American society is the willingness of those in the public eye, especially athletes, to openly take a political stand, even if it could harm their careers.”
Kaepernick was the only 49er to remain seated during the national anthem in a pre-season game against the Green Bay Packers on Friday.
He did so in the spotlight market of the National Football League, which constantly involves the troops in nearly every broadcasted game, in its effort to remain America's game.
“What should horrify Americans is not Kaepernick’s choice to remain seated during the national anthem, but that nearly 50 years after (Muhammad) 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,” wrote Abdul-Jabbar.
On the other hand, the NFL media is honing into how un-American it is for him not to stand for the anthem, instead of focusing on the reasons Kaepernick chose to not stand for the anthem.
Abdul-Jabbar has plenty of experience with racial divide and pushing for racial equality, as he was one of the NBA players that spearheaded the movement back in the 1970's.
The 7-foot-2 Los Angeles Lakers legend has been a Cultural Ambassador for the United States since January of 2012.
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