Thank You Kareem Abdul-Jabbar

I could not be more impressed than I am by the writing of Kareem Abdul-Jabbar about the Donald Sterling situation. He said even better than I did what I was trying to express in my last post.

Time - Kareem Abdul-Jabbar: Welcome to the Finger-Wagging Olympics

Aside from being one of the greatest players in history, heck, even I know who he is, he also achieved a degree in History from UCLA while leading in just about everything involving basketball. I just didn't know what a tremendous writer he was. This is a man who knows about racism; but, still understands that there are often bigger issues. To throw away all of the things we hold dear because of one issue is suicide as a nation and a people. He is also responsible for some the funniest lines in the movie "Airplane".

I don't like basketball, I am not a Muslim (Mr. Abdul-Jabbar is), I think Donald Sterling is a scum bag; but, he is an old fool scumbag and should have been kicked out of the NBA for being a scum bag and a slum lord, not for being an ignorant bigot. Mr. Abdul Jabbar nailed a really important issue that I did not; but, was at the heart of what I wrote, he just said it so much better. We take the moral high ground complaining about the government "spying" on us; but, destroy a mans life because of an illegal recording that was made in private. That is why I was outraged when the head of the NBA said that the conversation may have been private; but, it was public now.

I was asked to do something today. The person who asked me was under instruction to ask me the question. The person who had to ask me the question felt bad that they had to ask me as they knew that it would upset me. I was asked to do something that they knew would offend me. I have a moral, the moral is "do the right thing for the right reason". That is my belief and what I instruct the people who work for me to do. It may sound sappy; but, it is what I believe. Doing the right thing for the wrong reason and doing the wrong thing for the right both destroy your soul, they are sell outs and justifications for being selfish and corrupt. That is the challenge to our souls and ourselves and Mr. Abdul Jabbar knows that and could see the truth and the bigger issue.

Mr. Abdul Jabbar is never going to read this pitiful little blog' but, if he ever does I want to say something to him. Thank you. Not thank you for standing up and calling for reason; but, thank you for knowing reason and not being another media whore. Thank you for showing integrity, honesty and intelligence. Thank you for showing that we don't all have to be knee jerk, emotional morons seeking public acceptance.

A young kid, trying to make his life, trying to be the greatest basketball player ever, he also got a degree in History. My first degree is in History, you learn a lot about the world. This young man stood up and changed his name from Lewis Alcindor to Kareem Abdul-Jabbar. He faced a lot of hate for that. It was sort of okay to be black; but, a Muslim. It seemed so anti-American at the time to many fools. It is hard for people to remember the 60s and what sort of courage that took; but, he did it and risked a career. That is impressive to me.