Kareem Abdul-Jabbar criticizes LeBron James over some actions, including his vaccine hesitancy meme
Abdul-Jabbar said his comments about James were "in the spirit of a loving older brother offering guidance, whether wanted or not."
Iconic former Los Angeles Lakers player-turned-writer Kareem Abdul-Jabbar has weighed in on several topics over the past week. From “The Slap” to comments by current Laker star LeBron James regarding COVID-19 vaccines, Abdul-Jabbar has been generously penning his opinions.
At an event Sunday where the NBA’s award for social justice bearing his name was being revealed, Abdul-Jabbar told The Los Angeles Times that James should be “embarrassed” by some of the things he’s done, according to the report. He later sent a statement to the newspaper clarifying his assertions.
“I wouldn’t mind doing it if he would take the time. I definitely got the time,” Abdul-Jabbar said of speaking with James. “I admire the things that he’s done that have gotten all our attention. Sending a whole school to college? Wow. That’s amazing. His thoughtfulness and willingness to back it up with his wallet, you got to give him credit for that.”
The NBA legend-turned-activist added, “So I’m not throwing stones. I just wish he wouldn’t — you know, some of the things he’s done, he should be embarrassed about. That’s just where I’m coming from.”
In a note he sent to The Times later Sunday, Abul-Jabbar wrote, “I have chided LeBron when I thought he was dropping the ball when it came to supporting the community. But I did so in the spirit of a loving older brother offering guidance, whether wanted or not. So, when I said that he has done some things he should be embarrassed about, that wasn’t a slam or a barb or even a finger wag, it was me recapping some of what I’d said in the past.”
The primary clash of these two L.A. Lakers titans comes from a meme posted in December 2021. As previously reported by theGrio, James sparked outrage in the NBA world when he appeared to be hesitant to get the COVID-19 vaccine before finally succumbing and taking the jab in September. Since then, James has been accused of using his social media platform to fuel so-called conspiracy theories related to the coronavirus vaccine.
Abdul-Jabbar criticized the star then, saying, in part, “To directly address LeBron’s confusion, no one thinks colds and the flu aren’t serious. Experts agree that COVID-19 is at least 10 times more lethal than the flu. As for the common cold, death is extremely rare.”
“No, I don’t have a response to Kareem at all,” James said on Dec. 28. “And if you saw the post and you read the tag, you’re literally, honestly asking, ‘Help me out?’ Help me kind of figure it all out. We’re all trying to figure this pandemic out. We’re all trying to figure out COVID and the new strains and the flu, I think people forgot about the flu. People literally forgot about the flu during these times. Like, that’s still going around. This is flu season. So people have forgotten about the flu. People have forgotten about common colds. That happens. Especially with a lot of our kids that are in school. My daughter is in first grade, so a lot of these kids are getting common colds and getting the flu.”
Abdul-Jabbar had a hand in designing the NBA’s Social Justice Champion award — renamed the Kareem Abdul-Jabbar Trophy. The inaugural prize went to Carmelo Anthony in 2021. The new design, a gold representation of Abdul-Jabbar’s hands holding a glass basketball globe, was unveiled on Sunday before the Lakers played the Denver Nuggets.
James was out due to an injury.
TheGrio is FREE on your TV via Apple TV, Amazon Fire, Roku and Android TV. Also, please download theGrio mobile apps today!
