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.
My respect for Kareem Abdul-Jabbar just went to 0 (zero).
Trump is the Oppreszor & the National Anthem a slave song?
He has totally lost it.— Michael Minnick (@Predictor_1) August 15, 2018
Oh here we go…??
Really Kareem? In what way? ?
This guy needs a little attention now…
Would love to read @RealCandaceO response to this guy.#WALKAWAY#MAGA ??????
Kareem Abdul-Jabbar Compares the National Anthem to a Slave Song https://t.co/UElLeU8iL8— BC ❤️✝️?? (@clayfeathers) August 16, 2018
Kareem Abdul-Jabbar says the national anthem, is indistinguishable from a “slave song” and NFL players are being forced to stand for the anthem the way slaves were forced to sing during their work. No one’s forcing them to play. His comments are both disgraceful and absurd.
— WestCoastDeplorable2020 (@WDeplorable2020) August 16, 2018
Kareem Abdul-Jabbar Compares the National Anthem to a Slave Song https://t.co/mNdB3RKANP via @BreitbartNews Word, way out of bounds, I guess you can make anything stretch to fit your narrative. The imagination is a great thing, but at the sametime it can be an destructive force.
— #VMAN (@WORDOFTHEVMAN) August 16, 2018
Extremely sad to hear this completely ignorant comment coming from Kareem. Comments like that is what helps fuel division whilst living and prospering in the most free Country in the world.https://t.co/oS9wTqbbJ9
— JCFF (@jcfootballfans) August 16, 2018
In just the half hour since I heard Cuomo trashing America, I hear Kareem Jabbar comparing national anthem to a slave song and Hillary praising a girl for taking a knee on the anthem.What the hell is happening to Dem Party I once belonged to. They now love dissing this country
— Steve Levy (@SteveLevyNY) August 16, 2018
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