NBA legend Kareem Abdul-Jabbar has inspired some heated reactions to his comparing the national anthem to songs sung by slaves while they were forced to do manual labor.

“Slaves are generally expected to sing as well as to work,” the 71-year-old wrote in a recent column for The Hollywood Reporter.

The basketball star and author added that President Donald Trump is the oppressor demanding the national anthem be stood for and respected — just as slave owners would demand “feel-good” songs be sung by their slaves while they were working.

“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,” Abdul-Jabbar wrote.

He continued, “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.”

It should come as no surprise that many fans are outraged by these comments. Comparing the singing of “The Star-Spangled Banner” to a slave song is extreme; and saying that people are being forced to sing it in the same way that slaves were forced to sing other songs while they worked is downright ridiculous. It is this sort of extreme and empty rhetoric that is destroying critical thought and leading to a more fractured and polarized culture.

People have been making their reactions to Abdul-Jabbar’s comments known.

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