KAREEM ABDUL-JABBAR HAS A WAY WITH WORDS
Never in a million years could we have guessed that we would be admiring 7”2” NBA basketball icon Kareem Abdul-Jabbar as a brilliant writer. But his thoughtful essays in The Hollywood Reporter have repeatedly floored us. Most recently, Abdul-Jabbar wrote about “Hollywood’ts Addiction to the Myth of Manliness” and it illustrates his common sense view of gender and racial bias and how Hollywood perpetuates the backward attitude of “boys will be boys.” He points out that sports coaches insult players by calling them “girls,” (implying they are weak or lazy) without realizing that it is as offensive as black-face. Regarding Liam Neeson’s recent confession, Kareem calmly admits that most men have ignorant past behavior that they need to apologize for in a way that acknowledges the pain caused and promotes a more enlightened perspective. Kareem is our new hero…
Photo Credit: BACKGRID-USA
Above, Kareem with Michael Phelps