Los Angeles Lakers legend Kareem Abdul-Jabbar has called out other Lakers legend, LeBron James, over his handling of the COVID-19 pandemic and messaging.
While attending a social justice event by the NBA yesterday, Abdul-Jabbar doubled down on his stance regarding James and his handling of the pandemic, which he made clear in December. Abdul-Jabbar stated that he didn’t approve of the way James handled the situation, including showing support for Andrew Wiggins of the Warriors who was hesitant to receive the vaccine, and sharing a meme on Instagram which compared COVID to the common cold.
“I admire the things that [LeBron’s] done that have gotten all our attention,” Abdul-Jabbar said. “Sending a whole school to college? Wow. That’s amazing. His thoughtfulness and willingness to back it up with his wallet, you got to give him credit for that. So I’m not throwing stones. I just wish he wouldn’t — you know, some of the things he’s done, he should be embarrassed about. That’s just where I’m coming from.”
.@ShannonSharpe on Kareem's criticism of LeBron this year:
"He was out of bounds, but Kareem has to stand on it, you can't backtrack. You said what you really felt about LeBron. We didn't see these sharp critiques of Bron until now, when he's close to breaking Kareem's record." pic.twitter.com/DmL9wF4qOK
— UNDISPUTED (@undisputed) April 4, 2022
Abdul-Jabbar claimed that James should be ‘embarrassed’ about these factors, which date back to November, when he was fined $15,000 by the NBA for attending an “obscene” celebration. Abdul-Jabbar called out James back in December, to which James acknowledged.
“No, I don’t have a response to Kareem at all,” James said in December. “And if you saw the post and you read the tag, you’re literally, honestly asking, ‘Help me out?’ Help me kind of figure it all out. We’re all trying to figure this pandemic out.”
Abdul-Jabbar clarified his criticism of James at the event. “I think he has so much going for him in terms of respect and accomplishment and he shouldn’t stoop to those moments,” he said.
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