NBA legend Kareem Abdul-Jabbar likened the national anthem to songs that were sung by slaves while they were forced to do manual labor.
Abdul-Jabbar, 71, in a Tuesday column for The Hollywood Reporter, recanted what Frederick Douglass said in “My Bondage and My Freedom.”
“Slaves are generally expected to sing as well as to work,” Abdul-Jabbar wrote, adding that slaves had to sing their “oppressor’s feel-good songs” as well.
He wrote that “The Star-Spangled Banner” is the song that President Donald Trump — the oppressor — is demanding to be sung.
“Currently, the song being demanded is the national anthem during football games. But during a warm-up game on August 10, despite President Trump’s previous condemnation, several Eagles players kneeled during the anthem or raised their fists — their way of singing their own song,” he wrote.
“For them, lyrics like ‘land of the free’ don’t accurately represent the daily reality for people of color. They love their country but want that country to recognize the suffering that occurs when it isn’t living up to its constitutional promises.”
The NBA’s all-time leading scorer reacted to Trump’s saying NFL players wanted to show their outrage at something they’re “unable to define.”
What SJW Kareem Abdul-Jabbar fails to point out is the 70% of "black players" taking the field are paid huge amounts of money for playing a game and any other EMPLOYEE would be fired for engaging in political protest while at work. Bunch of whining, overpaid babies.
— TheGumption (@TGumption) August 15, 2018
“Who would know better how to define their outrage: the privileged darling of white supremacists, the 94 percent white team owners, the 75 percent white head coaches, or the 70 percent-black players who actually take the field each week?” Abdul-Jabbar asked.
The Basketball Hall of Famer has been critical of Trump’s stance about players kneeling during the national anthem.
In a piece for The Hollywood Reporter in September 2017, he praised NFL players for deciding to take a stand against Trump’s remarks.
Related: Five NFL Players Who Will Not Protest the National Anthem (Do You Know Who They Are?)
“They have evolved from quiet protest and heckling sarcasm, to respected leaders informing the public about what’s at stake. And in doing so, perhaps change the downward social spiral we are in,” he wrote at the time.
The first week of the preseason saw several NFL players take a knee or raise a fist during the national anthem.
This Fox News piece is used by permission.
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(photo credit, homepage and article images: Kareem Abdul-Jabbar, CC BY 2.0, Yahoo)
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