WEBVTT - Kareem Abdul-Jabbar: On and Off the Court 0:00:05.120 --> 0:00:06.800 When you were growing up in New York, did you 0:00:06.840 --> 0:00:09.920 ever imagine that this would happen, that you would reach 0:00:10.000 --> 0:00:13.360 that pinnacle? I No, I did not. I was always 0:00:13.360 --> 0:00:15.400 seen as being I was too thin, you know. I 0:00:15.440 --> 0:00:19.000 was supposed to be like Will Chamberlain, you know, three 0:00:19.400 --> 0:00:23.560 pounds of men. You know, I never made it that far, 0:00:23.720 --> 0:00:32.600 you know, Hi, Brian, Hi Katie. That was Kareem Abdul Jabbar, 0:00:32.720 --> 0:00:35.880 one of the NBA's all time grades. By the way. 0:00:35.880 --> 0:00:39.200 He's seven ft two and weighs two pounds soaking wet, 0:00:39.400 --> 0:00:42.400 or so we're told, and he is our guest this week. 0:00:42.520 --> 0:00:44.720 I had the chance to speak with him earlier this 0:00:44.760 --> 0:00:47.960 month in Los Angeles at the Milking Conference. You and 0:00:48.000 --> 0:00:50.160 I got to hang out there, Brian. It was really 0:00:50.240 --> 0:00:54.720 fun and fascinating, and we recorded this interview out of 0:00:54.720 --> 0:00:58.080 the studio and in front of a live audience. Kareem 0:00:58.200 --> 0:01:02.319 was absolutely captivating. People were so excited to see him 0:01:02.440 --> 0:01:06.880 because he does transcend sports. Brian. I think he's become 0:01:06.920 --> 0:01:09.920 a voice for so many important social issues. You know, 0:01:10.000 --> 0:01:13.119 I grew up in l a in the eighties and nineties, 0:01:13.200 --> 0:01:16.559 and Kareem Abdul Jabbar was a really big deal. Even 0:01:16.600 --> 0:01:19.399 for somebody like me who wasn't a rapid sports fans 0:01:19.480 --> 0:01:22.480 watching fan instead of the latest game. Yeah yeah, I 0:01:22.520 --> 0:01:26.040 just teed that right up for you, didn't I subcommittee 0:01:26.040 --> 0:01:28.319 hearings were a little more exciting for me than the Lakers. 0:01:28.360 --> 0:01:31.399 But anyway, we digress. He was a voice on a 0:01:31.440 --> 0:01:34.960 lot of social justice issues, on a lot of the 0:01:35.000 --> 0:01:39.000 way that African Americans were being mistreated, particularly during that period, 0:01:39.400 --> 0:01:44.880 and even as his basketball career ended, his activism really continued. 0:01:45.040 --> 0:01:49.840 He was a prolific campaigner for Hillary Clinton last year. 0:01:50.040 --> 0:01:54.400 He's spoken out on criminal justice reform and on Muslim 0:01:54.400 --> 0:01:58.600 issues too, because famously he converted to Islam as a 0:01:58.600 --> 0:02:00.480 young man, and so we we cover all of that. 0:02:00.520 --> 0:02:03.600 Are you covered all of that in your conversation with Kareem? 0:02:03.600 --> 0:02:05.920 You know, I first got to know him Brian when 0:02:05.920 --> 0:02:07.960 he got involved with Stand Up to Cancer, because he 0:02:08.040 --> 0:02:12.520 was diagnosed with lymphoma and was very generous with his 0:02:12.639 --> 0:02:16.239 time and support of that organization that I started along 0:02:16.280 --> 0:02:21.240 with some other crazy women. And uh, he was always 0:02:21.240 --> 0:02:26.960 struck me as being an exceedingly philanthropic and thoughtful individual. 0:02:27.200 --> 0:02:31.520 We had a wide ranging conversation about his faith, of course, 0:02:31.560 --> 0:02:37.280 about his relationship with John Wooden, about race relations today, 0:02:37.320 --> 0:02:42.760 about Donald Trump, and of course about basketball duh. And 0:02:42.800 --> 0:02:46.440 I wanted to know if he ever gets tired of 0:02:46.919 --> 0:02:50.600 hearing that people consider him the greatest basketball player of 0:02:50.680 --> 0:02:54.560 all time, because it has to do with the game 0:02:54.800 --> 0:02:57.280 I love so much. I can't hear that too much. 0:02:57.320 --> 0:03:01.280 You know, I'm very proud that I somehow worm my 0:03:01.320 --> 0:03:05.320 way into that conversation whether I am or am not 0:03:05.600 --> 0:03:09.120 the greatest ever, at least people wonder about that, and 0:03:09.160 --> 0:03:11.760 that that's I'm pretty proud of that. You have so 0:03:11.840 --> 0:03:14.400 many highlights as you look back on your career. But 0:03:14.720 --> 0:03:16.760 when we were in the green room waiting to go on, 0:03:17.160 --> 0:03:20.280 I asked you if you had a snapshot of one 0:03:20.360 --> 0:03:25.320 moment in your basketball career, what would that be? Oh? Well, 0:03:25.400 --> 0:03:28.960 for me, that's very easy, especially for the fans here 0:03:28.960 --> 0:03:37.760 in Los Angeles. Beating the Boston Celtics, you said, people 0:03:37.800 --> 0:03:39.880 always ask you about that. Right now they do. I 0:03:39.880 --> 0:03:44.240 mean especially here because it's so much residents. Yet that's 0:03:44.320 --> 0:03:48.400 at that point the Lakers were oh and eight against 0:03:48.920 --> 0:03:55.680 the Celtics in World Championship competition. Going back maybe to 0:03:55.880 --> 0:03:58.680 when the Lakers were in Minneapolis, it just went all 0:03:58.680 --> 0:04:02.960 the way back and there's just a long, uh period 0:04:03.000 --> 0:04:06.600 of frustration and the season. The very season before that, 0:04:07.120 --> 0:04:09.840 we gave a game away in Boston Garden. We were 0:04:09.960 --> 0:04:12.480 very very angry about that. So being able to come 0:04:12.520 --> 0:04:15.760 back the next year and beat them and win the 0:04:15.800 --> 0:04:19.560 final game in Game six in Boston Garden was incredible. 0:04:19.880 --> 0:04:22.640 It was very special woman for the team, for the franchise, 0:04:23.160 --> 0:04:25.320 for all the folks here in Los Angeles, and for 0:04:25.400 --> 0:04:28.480 me personally. You know, I was m v P. I 0:04:28.560 --> 0:04:32.159 was able to leave my team, uh at its most 0:04:32.400 --> 0:04:36.120 important time. So, yeah, you're not a real smiley person, 0:04:36.160 --> 0:04:38.920 but you're smiling when you're telling that story. Well, yeah, 0:04:38.920 --> 0:04:41.159 that's that's that's a great one. You know, you always 0:04:41.160 --> 0:04:43.200 feel good when you know you get the guy. You're 0:04:43.240 --> 0:04:46.080 the guy that rises in with the cavalry and saves 0:04:46.120 --> 0:04:48.800 everybody and the pretty girls kiss you and all of 0:04:48.800 --> 0:04:53.599 that stuff. You have written a new book, uh it 0:04:53.880 --> 0:04:58.520 is the twelve book, and it's called Coach Wooden and 0:04:58.560 --> 0:05:01.039 Me are fifty Year Friendship on and off the Court. 0:05:01.279 --> 0:05:03.480 And you start this book by talking about when you 0:05:03.560 --> 0:05:07.760 got the Presidential Medal of Freedom from President Obama. And 0:05:08.560 --> 0:05:11.400 I know that he brought up your n c A, 0:05:11.880 --> 0:05:14.320 the banning of dunking during your time in college, and 0:05:14.320 --> 0:05:16.600 he said, when a sport changes its rules to make 0:05:16.640 --> 0:05:21.320 it harder just for you, you are really good. Well, 0:05:21.560 --> 0:05:23.920 it must have been very very cool to get that 0:05:24.240 --> 0:05:28.119 Presidential Medal of Freedom. It was especially an incredible group 0:05:28.160 --> 0:05:30.359 of people. Right. That's the thing that got to me. 0:05:31.040 --> 0:05:33.880 So many people there that I admired and who had 0:05:33.920 --> 0:05:39.080 affected my life in many different ways. Uh, Robert de 0:05:39.160 --> 0:05:45.400 Niro or Ellen or Cecily Tyson Coach wouldn't have gotten 0:05:45.400 --> 0:05:50.720 that same Presidential Medal of Freedom thirteen years earlier. Right, 0:05:51.200 --> 0:05:54.040 And Um, I was going to read a passage that 0:05:54.040 --> 0:05:56.760 that you wrote early on. You're so prolific. Where do 0:05:56.800 --> 0:05:59.160 you find all this time to write? I get help, 0:05:59.360 --> 0:06:01.640 I do, get help, you do. But you're a good 0:06:01.640 --> 0:06:04.719 writer though. Yeah, And I got a great guy that 0:06:04.800 --> 0:06:09.120 helps you with my my research, and uh, he's great. Well, 0:06:09.200 --> 0:06:12.640 let me read this passage. Um. Coach was an old 0:06:12.640 --> 0:06:16.280 white Midwesterner with old fashioned ideals. I was a quiet, 0:06:16.279 --> 0:06:19.320 but cocky black kid from New York City who towered 0:06:19.360 --> 0:06:22.839 eighteen inches over him. He was a devout Christian. I 0:06:22.920 --> 0:06:25.880 became a devout Muslim. He loved big band music of 0:06:25.920 --> 0:06:29.040 the swing era. I love modern jazz. On paper, it's 0:06:29.120 --> 0:06:32.600 understandable that we would have a good working relationship as 0:06:32.640 --> 0:06:36.000 coach and player. But nothing on that same paper would 0:06:36.000 --> 0:06:38.080 even hint that we would have a close friendship that 0:06:38.120 --> 0:06:41.240 would endure a lifetime. So talk to me about your 0:06:41.240 --> 0:06:45.160 friendship with Coach woulden how it developed, what he taught you, 0:06:45.279 --> 0:06:47.760 and and tell us a little bit about why he 0:06:47.839 --> 0:06:53.200 was so universally admired. He was universally admired because he 0:06:53.320 --> 0:06:56.560 had so much patience with us. He wanted us to 0:06:56.800 --> 0:06:58.880 be the best we could be. You want us to 0:06:58.880 --> 0:07:03.479 be the best uh husbands and fathers we could be. 0:07:03.520 --> 0:07:05.359 He wanted us to be the best citizens we could be. 0:07:05.520 --> 0:07:09.960 And he just used basketball as an analogy to teach 0:07:10.040 --> 0:07:13.640 us about life and about discipline and a whole lot 0:07:13.680 --> 0:07:17.160 of things that we thought we knew everything about when 0:07:17.160 --> 0:07:21.360 we got here. I just I laugh, you know, because 0:07:22.400 --> 0:07:24.920 I just thought, Hey, I'm ready, I should be going 0:07:24.960 --> 0:07:26.760 into the NBA, but I have to go to college. 0:07:27.160 --> 0:07:29.120 But I wanted to go to college. You know, I'm 0:07:29.160 --> 0:07:31.400 I'm the first person in my family graduated from college. 0:07:31.960 --> 0:07:34.960 Coach wouldn't really explain it to us how important it was, 0:07:35.560 --> 0:07:41.040 how important learning things were. Uh, the values that endure 0:07:41.480 --> 0:07:45.880 in families and successful teams. Any success that I have, 0:07:46.320 --> 0:07:49.160 uh is uh gotta be He's got to take some 0:07:49.280 --> 0:07:53.560 of the credit for it. Your friendship lasted his entire 0:07:53.680 --> 0:07:56.440 life really after you got to know him. He used 0:07:56.480 --> 0:07:58.960 to go see him and sometimes just kind of sit 0:07:59.560 --> 0:08:03.120 quiet and Uh. We were both baseball fans, so we 0:08:03.200 --> 0:08:07.040 talked about a number of things. UM. Coach wouldn't know 0:08:07.240 --> 0:08:12.200 a whole lot about the things that just astounded me. 0:08:12.600 --> 0:08:16.960 Some of it I didn't find out until very late 0:08:17.960 --> 0:08:20.960 in the time that I knew him, Like some of 0:08:21.000 --> 0:08:23.080 the stuff that he did for the civil rights movement. 0:08:23.840 --> 0:08:28.840 It is unbelievable for me. Coach woulden Uh was involved 0:08:29.000 --> 0:08:32.640 in getting the n a I a National Association of 0:08:32.720 --> 0:08:40.440 Intercollegiate Athletic Association that tournament integrated. They invited his team 0:08:40.440 --> 0:08:43.880 in nineteen seven to come. He had a very good 0:08:43.920 --> 0:08:46.920 team team that year. Um, they wanted to be come. 0:08:48.000 --> 0:08:50.360 He said, yeah, sure, and then they told him all 0:08:50.400 --> 0:08:52.320 about it and said, oh, you have a black guy 0:08:52.320 --> 0:08:55.160 on your team. You can't bring him here. It's it's 0:08:55.160 --> 0:08:57.320 for white's only. Coach Wins said, you know, we we 0:08:57.360 --> 0:09:00.640 played the whole season together. We're not going to stop 0:09:00.720 --> 0:09:03.760 that at this point, thank you very much. We're not coming. 0:09:04.040 --> 0:09:06.440 And he hung the phone up on the guy and 0:09:06.520 --> 0:09:10.079 the team didn't go. Next season, his team did better, 0:09:10.840 --> 0:09:14.360 and the n ai tournament people called him again with 0:09:14.400 --> 0:09:18.560 the same conversation, and they got the same reply, and 0:09:18.559 --> 0:09:20.360 he got ready to hanging the phone up, and but 0:09:20.400 --> 0:09:24.560 they relented and h coaches player ended up being the 0:09:24.640 --> 0:09:28.120 very first Black American to to play in that tournament. 0:09:28.679 --> 0:09:32.000 Now I played for coach, wouldn't right at the end 0:09:32.000 --> 0:09:33.880 of the Civil rights movement. He never spoke to me 0:09:33.920 --> 0:09:38.160 about it. I didn't find out about it until, uh, 0:09:38.160 --> 0:09:41.280 shortly before he died that he had done that and 0:09:41.320 --> 0:09:45.280 it had been an advocate for black athletes. And uh, yeah, 0:09:45.400 --> 0:09:48.200 I know that many of your books have been about 0:09:48.240 --> 0:09:51.679 African American history, speaking of that, about Black Americans who 0:09:51.679 --> 0:09:55.559 have had a profound and sometimes overlooked impact on this country. 0:09:55.559 --> 0:10:00.240 In the wake of the Black Lives Matter movement, Um, 0:10:00.280 --> 0:10:04.760 how do you feel about the state of race relations today? Um, 0:10:04.840 --> 0:10:09.440 it's disappointing to me to see some thing's moving backwards. 0:10:11.000 --> 0:10:13.880 I don't think things can go, but so far backwards 0:10:14.280 --> 0:10:19.720 after President Obama, who did I thought such a great job. Um, 0:10:20.440 --> 0:10:23.120 but I'm disappointed to see some of the old things 0:10:23.160 --> 0:10:26.120 start to try to rear their heads. You know that 0:10:26.840 --> 0:10:30.400 so many of our children, I know my children don't 0:10:30.720 --> 0:10:35.880 feel racial issues like my generation had to deal with them, 0:10:35.960 --> 0:10:40.920 or especially the generation before me. Um I was born. 0:10:41.840 --> 0:10:45.280 And it's it keeps getting better. I think each generation 0:10:45.320 --> 0:10:48.040 that our children are are able to say, hey, we're 0:10:48.080 --> 0:10:52.160 all Americans. We be come from a very many different 0:10:52.200 --> 0:10:55.800 cultures around the world. Los Angeles County has over they 0:10:55.800 --> 0:11:00.480 speak over a hundred languages in our schools. I found 0:11:00.480 --> 0:11:02.080 this out. I know people in the l a unified 0:11:02.120 --> 0:11:04.280 school district and tell me, so, man, these things over 0:11:04.320 --> 0:11:08.520 a hundred languages. Um. The malting part of the world 0:11:08.600 --> 0:11:11.680 is incredibly large, and we can all come here and 0:11:11.720 --> 0:11:15.680 be Americans. It's it's an incredible system that we have 0:11:15.960 --> 0:11:20.400 and yet and moving backwards, so that that that's bothered me, 0:11:20.440 --> 0:11:24.600 and uh, I hope that uh it's gone far enough 0:11:24.679 --> 0:11:27.640 and uh we all stop and think a minute and 0:11:28.120 --> 0:11:30.840 keep it moving forward. You know. It's it seems far, 0:11:31.000 --> 0:11:33.280 far too often when we hear about a young black 0:11:33.320 --> 0:11:38.240 man being killed by police under sometimes questionable circumstances. I 0:11:38.320 --> 0:11:40.640 was just reading yesterday about that fifteen year old boy 0:11:40.640 --> 0:11:44.640 in Dallas who uh was shot by a police officer 0:11:44.679 --> 0:11:46.760 when the car he was in was backing up, and 0:11:47.480 --> 0:11:50.360 initially the police that it was reversing in an aggressive 0:11:50.679 --> 0:11:54.880 manner um. That statement, by the way, was later retracted. 0:11:55.280 --> 0:11:59.120 But how do we stop these heartbreaking incidents from happening? 0:11:59.200 --> 0:12:01.960 Have you? You know, there's been so much attention on 0:12:02.000 --> 0:12:04.560 these shooting scream as you well know, do you do 0:12:04.600 --> 0:12:09.160 you see any solution or anything that's happening in departments, say, 0:12:09.240 --> 0:12:13.080 around the country that gives you hope or you know, 0:12:13.240 --> 0:12:15.280 every time you hear about a story like this, do 0:12:15.320 --> 0:12:18.559 you think, why, why isn't more being done to address 0:12:18.600 --> 0:12:21.880 this problem? Well, I'm encouraged by a few things that 0:12:21.880 --> 0:12:25.480 that I see in that attempt to try to deal 0:12:25.480 --> 0:12:30.079 with these issues, with the cameras, the uh, the body cameras, 0:12:30.679 --> 0:12:33.160 and just the fact that that we can talk about 0:12:33.200 --> 0:12:36.400 it now and I know that it's a problem. For 0:12:36.480 --> 0:12:38.559 the longest time, people used to deny that it was 0:12:38.600 --> 0:12:41.520 a problem, and then they have Then they have this 0:12:41.559 --> 0:12:44.120 thing called the cell phone with cameras on it. Right, 0:12:44.240 --> 0:12:47.360 everything changed that That changed a lot of things because 0:12:47.760 --> 0:12:50.920 people began to understand that it really was a problem. 0:12:51.200 --> 0:12:54.680 Lack Americans weren't making these things up just to cover 0:12:54.800 --> 0:13:00.200 their own innate criminality. People believe that mynth. You know 0:13:00.280 --> 0:13:05.240 that that's a myth. People would actually believe that. But 0:13:05.320 --> 0:13:09.559 now we can see that it's it's just bias. Um, 0:13:09.600 --> 0:13:13.800 all criminals deserve to be apprehended and prosecuted, no matter 0:13:13.840 --> 0:13:16.160 what color they are, no matter you know what the crime. 0:13:17.080 --> 0:13:21.240 That said, Uh, we can't be biased in doing that. 0:13:21.800 --> 0:13:24.120 You know, either it is probable cause that there isn't 0:13:24.320 --> 0:13:32.200 you know, lots of workern as you know, is being 0:13:32.240 --> 0:13:37.160 done with implicit bias, you know, unconscious bias at police 0:13:37.200 --> 0:13:40.480 departments all over the country. So do you do you 0:13:40.520 --> 0:13:44.120 feel hopeful that retraining and I mean some of this 0:13:44.280 --> 0:13:48.160 is so deeply ingrained, right, very it's it's ingrained in 0:13:48.160 --> 0:13:51.120 the culture of our country. Some of it goes back to, uh, 0:13:51.760 --> 0:13:55.520 the fugitive slay that which was I believe eighteen fifty 0:13:56.360 --> 0:14:00.280 where one I think I'm kidding, I don't know, Yeah, yeah, 0:14:01.440 --> 0:14:07.840 I think you're right fifty one. But um, whatever it 0:14:07.960 --> 0:14:12.959 was American citizens were told that they should apprehend and 0:14:13.040 --> 0:14:19.120 hold escape property, which actually were people fleeing, uh, being 0:14:19.200 --> 0:14:22.480 kidnapped and worked to death in the South, so that 0:14:22.520 --> 0:14:25.520 they could make a profit on on cotton. That that's 0:14:26.000 --> 0:14:29.400 was the premise. You know, Uh, this is our property, 0:14:29.680 --> 0:14:33.880 and you guys got to help control these people because 0:14:34.000 --> 0:14:36.800 we can't control them in there again, innate and lee 0:14:37.080 --> 0:14:41.000 wild people because they come from Africa. And it was 0:14:41.840 --> 0:14:47.360 a real great the propaganda job that enabled that that 0:14:47.440 --> 0:14:51.520 system to last until people realized that these people were 0:14:51.600 --> 0:14:56.560 human beings. And thank having for President Lincoln. Uh, despite 0:14:56.600 --> 0:15:00.200 despite what Mr Trump has to say, which brings me 0:15:00.320 --> 0:15:03.200 to my next topic, how do you think he's doing 0:15:03.240 --> 0:15:13.440 as president? Jeez Um, it's real obvious disparity between what 0:15:13.520 --> 0:15:17.720 we're going through now and I thought the competence and 0:15:19.320 --> 0:15:31.560 honestly of President Obama, it's a dramatic difference. We're going 0:15:31.600 --> 0:15:33.480 to take a quick break. We'll be back with more 0:15:33.640 --> 0:15:43.640 from Kareem Abdul Jabbar right after this, and now back 0:15:43.640 --> 0:15:47.480 to my conversation with Kareem Abdul Jabbar or kJ as 0:15:47.520 --> 0:15:55.280 I call him. You. You wrote a piece for the 0:15:55.320 --> 0:15:58.000 Washington Post about what it means to be black during 0:15:58.040 --> 0:16:02.360 a Trump administration. And here's an excerpt injustices were easier 0:16:02.400 --> 0:16:05.200 to endure when there seemed to be a sustained path 0:16:05.280 --> 0:16:08.320 to improvement that the country supported. But now we have 0:16:08.560 --> 0:16:11.440 the what have you got to lose? Non policy? The 0:16:11.520 --> 0:16:16.600 bulldozes the path to rubble. Specifically, how do you believe 0:16:16.680 --> 0:16:20.280 that path is being bulldozed kareem um? Just the way 0:16:20.320 --> 0:16:24.480 that they're trying to uh return tax dollars to the 0:16:24.520 --> 0:16:28.920 wealthiest one percent on the backs of people who need money, 0:16:29.040 --> 0:16:34.560 uh for better educational opportunities and roads and airports and 0:16:34.880 --> 0:16:43.400 train infrastructure, bridges, tunnels. They need to be upheld taking 0:16:43.400 --> 0:16:46.440 away from the things that benefit the middle class and 0:16:46.560 --> 0:16:51.720 give lower class people jobs. It's not it's not a 0:16:51.720 --> 0:16:56.800 good formula. And I don't you know, having someone who's 0:16:57.360 --> 0:17:01.480 a multi millionaire in office who doesn't care or even 0:17:01.600 --> 0:17:05.960 understand the the workings of how people make it from 0:17:06.080 --> 0:17:08.880 the lower classes into the middle class or possibly into 0:17:08.920 --> 0:17:13.560 the upper class. He doesn't understand how that happens because 0:17:13.600 --> 0:17:16.600 he was smart enough to you know, inherit two hundred 0:17:16.600 --> 0:17:20.159 million when he when he was born. You know, I 0:17:20.200 --> 0:17:23.439 didn't have those kind of smarts, so I had to 0:17:23.480 --> 0:17:27.160 do it the hard way, and um, most of us 0:17:27.440 --> 0:17:30.040 have to do it that way. Let's let's talk about 0:17:30.480 --> 0:17:34.800 when you converted to Islam nearly fifty years ago. What 0:17:35.040 --> 0:17:38.679 motivated you to do that? Cream. I was raised Catholic, 0:17:39.000 --> 0:17:41.119 and the Catholic Church had a big hand in the 0:17:41.200 --> 0:17:45.680 slave trade. I resented that, but I had a strong 0:17:45.680 --> 0:17:49.560 belief in monotheism. So as a person of African descent, 0:17:49.640 --> 0:17:54.240 I wanted to practice Monotheism in a way that was 0:17:54.280 --> 0:17:58.360 more compatible with where I was from, and that was Islam. 0:17:59.160 --> 0:18:01.800 I learned about his Lama. I read the autobiography of 0:18:01.800 --> 0:18:04.840 Malcolm X. That really prompted me to want to learn 0:18:04.880 --> 0:18:07.360 about Islam, and I found it to be something that 0:18:07.600 --> 0:18:11.159 made sense to me, and I converted when I was 0:18:11.160 --> 0:18:15.160 about the nineteen or twenty years old. We've seen hostility 0:18:15.240 --> 0:18:19.640 towards Muslims, not just in this country but around the world. 0:18:20.480 --> 0:18:23.480 What can be done about that? And what do you 0:18:23.520 --> 0:18:28.680 think is the most misunderstood part of Islam? I think 0:18:28.720 --> 0:18:33.160 the most misunderstood part about Islam is that they feel that, uh, 0:18:33.240 --> 0:18:37.760 we're taught to be violent. The Muslim community during the 0:18:37.760 --> 0:18:41.520 time of the Prophet were was attacked, and they learned 0:18:41.520 --> 0:18:43.840 how to be vigilant, and that's in the Koran. To 0:18:43.880 --> 0:18:46.879 be vigilant, but to make peace with people and to 0:18:47.080 --> 0:18:49.400 keep up your end of all peace treaties. That that's 0:18:49.400 --> 0:18:53.560 what the Koran tells us. That's what most Muslims used 0:18:53.560 --> 0:18:55.680 to try to do. And now there's some crazy people. 0:18:55.760 --> 0:18:59.440 Let's say that they are Muslims and they are barbaric, 0:18:59.520 --> 0:19:03.560 murderer some of the things that they've tried to put 0:19:03.600 --> 0:19:08.800 out there, these issist people, it's it's barbarity. They didn't 0:19:08.880 --> 0:19:12.360 learn that from the teachings of the prophet Muhammad. It's 0:19:12.400 --> 0:19:16.040 just it's like saying that the Christian knights of the 0:19:16.119 --> 0:19:19.200 ku Klux Klan represent the teachings of Jesus, So that 0:19:19.400 --> 0:19:24.399 that's impossible. This radical Jahodism or whether they want to 0:19:24.400 --> 0:19:27.760 call it, um, that's not that's not compatible with the 0:19:27.800 --> 0:19:30.480 teachings of Islam. And I hope people can get that. 0:19:34.119 --> 0:19:38.280 Thank you know, you've you've spoken out about this, You've 0:19:38.280 --> 0:19:42.640 written about it extensively. Um. One of the complaints that 0:19:43.480 --> 0:19:46.240 you know, I've heard in various circles is that there 0:19:46.280 --> 0:19:50.800 aren't enough moderate Muslims speaking out, not just in this country, 0:19:50.960 --> 0:19:57.640 but around the world against this this fundamentalists uh interpretation 0:19:57.680 --> 0:20:00.639 if you will, of the Kuran. Do you wish that 0:20:00.720 --> 0:20:05.040 more people would speak out against that as a way 0:20:05.080 --> 0:20:09.440 of really explaining what Islam truly is well, I don't 0:20:09.440 --> 0:20:13.360 think that voices of moderation are heard in the places 0:20:13.359 --> 0:20:17.160 where these things are happening. The places where these things 0:20:17.160 --> 0:20:21.320 are happening are are ruled by uh, really bad governance, 0:20:21.960 --> 0:20:27.320 strong men, kings. Uh, they're very often corrupt. If they 0:20:27.359 --> 0:20:30.840 have any mineral wealth, there's one group that controls it 0:20:30.920 --> 0:20:33.400 and controls all the wealth in the country and therefore 0:20:33.920 --> 0:20:36.720 sets the agenda for everything. And the common person is 0:20:36.760 --> 0:20:41.840 forgotten in those places. And you have really very wealthy 0:20:41.960 --> 0:20:46.680 elites that they don't It's like a whole family of Trump's, 0:20:46.800 --> 0:20:51.199 you know, like thousands of them. It's bad stuff. You know, 0:20:51.240 --> 0:20:54.679 they have a very distorted view of what life is about. 0:20:55.600 --> 0:20:59.000 What was your reaction when President Trump temporarily banded travel 0:20:59.160 --> 0:21:02.960 from at first seven and later six predominantly Muslim countries. 0:21:03.840 --> 0:21:07.560 I was very disappointed. I think he's trying to escapegoat 0:21:07.680 --> 0:21:11.320 He's trying to escapegoat one group, and um, I think 0:21:11.520 --> 0:21:15.240 it's caused some very bad things that start happening. Hate 0:21:15.240 --> 0:21:19.560 crimes have risen. We saw what happened in the Jewish 0:21:19.600 --> 0:21:24.920 cemetery in St. Louis, the mosque in Texas. Any mom 0:21:24.960 --> 0:21:27.919 I think in New Jersey was was murdered. Um. You know, 0:21:28.080 --> 0:21:33.120 it's it's getting really more serious. Acts of violence directed 0:21:33.160 --> 0:21:38.080 against Muslims or against people who people think are Muslims. 0:21:38.119 --> 0:21:41.600 Some seekh people, most the people from India who wear turbans. 0:21:41.880 --> 0:21:44.680 People some people think they're Muslims, they're not. They're They're 0:21:44.720 --> 0:21:49.320 getting attacked. It's getting crazy and it doesn't make sense. 0:21:50.080 --> 0:21:53.040 And the leader of our country should try to really 0:21:53.080 --> 0:21:57.160 calm this whole atmosphere down and you know, be rational. 0:21:57.400 --> 0:22:01.359 There are people we need to fear, but just anybody 0:22:01.359 --> 0:22:05.639 who looks different fearing them is not That's that's not 0:22:05.680 --> 0:22:08.840 going to get it. Let me ask you about your 0:22:08.920 --> 0:22:13.200 chronic mylod My Lloyd leukemia. You were diagnosed in two 0:22:13.200 --> 0:22:18.240 thousand nine. Today you're still in remission, feeling good, very good. 0:22:18.280 --> 0:22:21.600 Thank you, and you were awarded a double Helix Medal 0:22:21.600 --> 0:22:24.480 in two thousand eleven for your work and raising awareness 0:22:24.480 --> 0:22:28.000 for cancer research. You've been very helpful to stand up 0:22:28.000 --> 0:22:32.040 to cancers and we appreciate that so much. Greem Um, 0:22:32.080 --> 0:22:41.320 so so how thicky, How how did that diagnosis change 0:22:41.359 --> 0:22:46.040 you for your priorities, your perspective. I think it really 0:22:46.040 --> 0:22:51.520 helped me understand that how precious my time is. Well, 0:22:51.600 --> 0:22:55.280 Raymond and I talked about this. He said, the Angel 0:22:55.320 --> 0:22:58.640 of Death was on vacation in China, going to all 0:22:58.640 --> 0:23:01.399 the beaches, and now are driving up and down with 0:23:01.640 --> 0:23:06.280 your boulevard in a cab looking for you. Um, things 0:23:06.280 --> 0:23:09.480 start to you know, your perspective changes, you know, all 0:23:09.480 --> 0:23:12.440 of a sudden, Hey, you might run up on the 0:23:12.520 --> 0:23:14.560 end of your days and you want to make sure 0:23:14.640 --> 0:23:16.720 that you you do the right things for all the 0:23:16.760 --> 0:23:20.040 people and all the causes that that are important to you. 0:23:20.040 --> 0:23:23.360 You know. So it's really helped me get a lot 0:23:23.359 --> 0:23:28.240 more done. You are so outspoken about a variety of issues. 0:23:28.520 --> 0:23:31.720 Do you ever regret sort of putting yourself out there 0:23:32.200 --> 0:23:34.040 in such a way. I know you have two million 0:23:34.480 --> 0:23:37.399 Twitter followers. I don't even want to read those comments. Cream. 0:23:37.440 --> 0:23:41.680 That scares me to death, even the idea of that. Um, 0:23:41.720 --> 0:23:47.840 but I'm sure you get a fair amount of backlash. Yeah, yeah, 0:23:48.400 --> 0:23:53.640 I know you do. Yeah, yeah, thanks for reminding me. 0:23:55.760 --> 0:23:59.000 But he comes in the form of like tweets. Now 0:23:59.080 --> 0:24:01.480 you don't really get any thing right, No, but that 0:24:01.480 --> 0:24:05.880 that that's uh. Actually it's easier for them with with tweet, 0:24:05.880 --> 0:24:08.920 they don't have to thinking. It's very hard for these people, 0:24:09.080 --> 0:24:14.320 and you limit the number of characters that see. It's 0:24:14.400 --> 0:24:16.800 easier on them. You know, do you ever do you 0:24:16.880 --> 0:24:21.600 ever engage with them? No? No, never, No. I really 0:24:21.600 --> 0:24:26.879 took a lot of heart and inspiration from from Mr Lewis, 0:24:27.040 --> 0:24:31.480 Mr John Lewis. I remember watching on the news the 0:24:31.640 --> 0:24:35.280 time when he let those people across they had been 0:24:35.320 --> 0:24:40.199 Pettis Bridge, and I wept. I was like fourteen or 0:24:40.200 --> 0:24:44.159 fifteen years old. I was crying. And the man is 0:24:44.320 --> 0:24:48.119 he's not bitter, he's not angry. I've heard him speaking. 0:24:48.160 --> 0:24:51.560 He said, if you don't put your life on the line, 0:24:52.200 --> 0:24:58.159 you're not committed to non violence and uh progress, And 0:24:58.200 --> 0:25:02.239 it just it It makes me smile and makes me 0:25:02.320 --> 0:25:05.360 realize that they you only have so much time, and 0:25:05.920 --> 0:25:08.880 you can't worry about how you leave here. You got 0:25:08.880 --> 0:25:18.720 to leave here doing the right thing. That's such a 0:25:19.000 --> 0:25:21.119 that's such a great way to end our conversation. But 0:25:21.160 --> 0:25:23.919 I have a few more questions. Real quickly. Um. I 0:25:23.960 --> 0:25:26.119 wanted to ask you. First of all, you turned seventy. 0:25:26.200 --> 0:25:29.920 You're so skinny. Yeah, so so what up with that? 0:25:30.760 --> 0:25:33.240 You just do have to watch what you eat? Apparently not. 0:25:33.640 --> 0:25:37.439 I've always been skinny, I know that. But but I 0:25:37.480 --> 0:25:40.840 mean how you you how for someone who's spent so 0:25:40.920 --> 0:25:45.280 much of his life in top physical uh shape? How 0:25:45.320 --> 0:25:48.320 how has it felt to age? If you're Kareem Abdul Jabbar, 0:25:49.200 --> 0:25:52.120 I feel that I've done pretty good at it. Um. 0:25:52.359 --> 0:25:55.520 You're building a swimming pool, Yeah, so I can swim 0:25:55.520 --> 0:25:58.880 every day? Yeah? Is that something you do regularly? Swim? Yeah, 0:25:59.040 --> 0:26:03.240 it's a family thing. Kareem moved to Orange County and 0:26:03.280 --> 0:26:05.520 he's building flaming fool. I asked him if he saw 0:26:05.560 --> 0:26:09.159 the Real Housewives there. He said, no, no, no, I 0:26:09.160 --> 0:26:13.080