Black Sports : After you were traded to the Lakers, you said that you were looking forward to the move because L.A. had changed and you had changed also. What was L.A. like before and how have you changed?

Abdul-Jabbar : I left in 19969 and it’s now 1975. America has changed. I’m talking about in that really general context. L.A. is basically the same place, the same as when I was in UCLA. But it’s a new day, you know, I’m a new person, too. I’m older now.

Black Sports : Age doesn’t necessarily change a person, does it?

Abdul-Jabbar : Some people tend to mature with age and I think that’s what’s happened in my case.

Black Sports : In expressing your discontent in Milwaukee one of the reasons you gave was that there was a cultural deficiency there. What did Milwaukee lack culturally?

Abdul-Jabbar : Alright Milwaukee has—in fact a young lady did an article on all kinds of bitterness expressed by different people in Milwaukee and what this young Afro-American woman said was that there are only 105,000 Afro-Americans in Milwaukee out of a metropolitan area of a million, million-and-a-half people. And there isn’t any Afro-American middle class. There aren’t any Afro-Americans in the income bracket that I’m in and they definitely don’t have any cultural happenings in the Afro-American community. There simply weren’t any of the things I relate to, having grown up in New York and gone to school in Los Angeles.

Black Sports : Was that the only reason why you asked out?

Abdul-Jabbar : Well, it’s kind of hard to do your job in someplace that you’re not really comfortable in. The basketball fans in Milwaukee were very loyal and working there was fine. People appreciated me and management appreciated me, but beyond that there was nothing there for me to relate to other than my job. And that makes for a lot of lonely afternoons and evenings. In addition to that, business interests outside of basketball weren’t what you’d really call lucrative. Milwaukee being the small town that it is, it just didn’t have the opportunity that I could make use of.

Black Sports : What kind of cultural experience are you looking for?

Abdul-Jabbar : I was born and raised in New York City and New York produced a whole lot of Afro-Americans fro W.E. B. DuBois, Duke Ellington, Dizzie Gillespie, Charlie Parker, Nikki Giovanni . . . I could sit here all day and name people who came out of New York City. All these people made their mark in New York and that’s the type of thing that goes on there. That’s definitely not what’s going on in Milwaukee. In L.A. you have the same kind of atmosphere; well, not exactly the same kind of atmosphere but it’s similar.

Black Sports : There are several versions of how you began your progression to Islam and what led to it. Could you tell us the true one?

Abdul-Jabbar : While I was in high school I was aware of Malcolm X; I never went to hear him speak but I was aware of certain things he had said, certain fear he generated in the Anglo community and certain things he was saying that made a lot of sense. Through this awareness of him, observing his split with The Nation, the so-called Nation of Islam, made me aware that there was something going on that I didn’t know that much about. I was raised a Catholic and I became a little dissatisfied with Church, especially when I found out quite a few things about its history—how the history of the Church was closely tied with the slave trade and that type of thing really turned me off. I felt I couldn’t deal with that again. That was about my senior year in high school. Also that year Malcolm was killed and I wanted to know what exactly would cause some people who said they were for the Afro-Americans in this country to kill a great Afro-American leader like Malcolm X. So I started investigating. Finally I read his autobiography when it came out in 1966 and it pointed out exactly what I wanted to know. From them on it was just a process of reading in terms of Islam, the Brahmin teachings, Hindu teachings, Confucius. I studied just about everything and I kept coming back to Islam.

Black Sports : Despite all the criticism of the Nation of Islam, they are still given a great deal of credit for re-awakening and encouraging self-esteem among Blacks. What do you think of their contribution in that area?

Abdul-Jabbar : I don’t know if it’s an accomplishment. I think civil rights marches and all that during the 60s was the most visible and vocal of all the movements in this country occurring in this century. Marcus Garvey was the first and after Garvey it was CORE, SNCC and those type people. I think that’s what really turned everybody around. People in the Nation didn’t have anything to do with that.

Black Sports : There are some who feel that Malcolm X was also discontented with the contribution the Nation was making and was preparing to server his ties with Elijah Muhammad. In what direction do you think Malcolm was headed?

Abdul-Jabbar : Well, from what I understand—and of course I have no personal knowledge— Malcolm had seen that people in the Nation were trying to limit Afro-Americans insofar as trying to make us look inward. They’re a very inward looking people. Malcolm was looking outward. He was looking for all the help he could get and he was looking for help from the Islamic world. He was trying to take our struggle from being one of a racial problem to one of a human problem, one that relates to all humans. I think he was killed because he was starting to make too much sense.

Black Sports : Why do you refer to Blacks as Afro- Americans?

Abdul-Jabbar : Well, very simple. If you wanted to say that I was black then the color of my skin would have to be black, the hue is brown or tan. Some of us are very dark-brown colored and some of us are very light colored but none of us is black. But I don’t even think I those terms. I relate to myself and to my cultural heritage which is Afro-American.

Black Sports : is Afro-American a more accurate term for Blacks?

Abdul-Jabbar : Definitely more accurate. If you take all the so-called Black people in the world you won’t find any of them are black. What quality do I have in common with this piece of cloth, it’s black? I’m not black. My ancestors did come from Africa, I know that for a fact and I also have ancestors that were born in America. I’m part American Indian. So how can I accurately say I’m Black?

Black Sports : You, among other athletes, have been criticized by individuals within the Afro-American community for your limited involvement with youths on the so-called grass roots level. Is the criticism valid?

Abdul-Jabbar : I don’t think it’s valid because no one knows what we’re going through unless you'’ve done it. I can’t criticize anyone for one thing or another because I really don’t know what they go through and they don’t know what I go through. It comes down to a matter of time. Some people have the time. If I lived in one city all the time I might be able to do something. But playing basketball eight months of the year involves all my time for those eight months and a lot of time outside those eight months I have to be getting in shape to be ready for those eight months. If I have any business interests I have to stay on top of that. That really absorbs most of my time. So those that have the time and can do something positive they should do it I’ve only been able t do a few things. I’ve played in benefit games, like the Ralph Bunche scholarship game and that is my way of giving my time and my professional skills for something profitable. Again, I’m professional basketball player. I gave my time to help get some scholarships. That’s all you can do. There’s a certain limit to what you can do. You have to stay within your orbit.

Black Sports : Does the Afro-American athlete owe a legitimate debt to the “community “? And if so, how much?

Abdul-Jabbar : Again that’s going to vary with the individual. I was watching the Pan Am Games and it occurred to me that when it’s Us versus Then it’s no longer someone representing himself ; he represents his neighborhood. I think the pressure is undue, however, especially on professional athletes. When they get out in this world they have to fight to hard to survive in this profession. It’s a fight. It’s a fight every year to get in shape, a fight to get a job, a fight to maintain whatever standards you can maintain. And I don’t think people should pressure athletes that much to the point where they can’t continue their job, a job that allowed them to maneuver themselves out of a very negative position. But you still have to go out there and struggle with the rest of the people to make it. I do what I can when I can. It’s my birth, you know. I can handle it. I don’t think you can blanketly say “I’m not going to do anything. “I don’t think that’s smart. Even from a non-racial point of view, it’s not good public relations.

Black Sports : Do you relish being put in the position of providing an “image” for young Blacks?

Abdul-Jabbar : Sometimes yes, sometimes no. Because at certain times they expect you to be something you’re not. They want you to be all things to all men. You can’t do that. The middle ground is where you find it. If I were in a different profession it might be a lot easier but I’m not a social worker. As a matter of fact it doesn’t make sense and I won’t attempt to do that. But when I get the chance I will do what I can.

Black Sports : What events led to your being traded to Los Angeles? I am sure everyone, including the Bucks thought you were in Milwaukee for the rest of your career.

Abdul-Jabbar : I had informed the people in Milwaukee that I would not sign a new contract. I signed a five-year contract in 1972 and I just let them know that that was it. So it was on them to do something or end up with nothing. So they had to trade me to get something.

Black Sports : You initiated the deal then with that ultimatum?

Abdul-Jabbar : That’s right .

Black Sports : You blasted the New York Knicks’ management pretty good after the trade because you said they hadn’t tried hard enough to get you and later you changed your attitude and virtually apologized. Why did you criticize the Knicks and what made you change your mind about them?

Abdul-Jabbar : It seemed to me that they spent all their time trying to do something they couldn’t do-getting George McGinnis. They knew I was interested in New York and wanted to come there. They went on a wild goose chase and ended up doing something that involved breaking by-laws of the NBA and contractual agreements. And there was no way they could have done that and gotten away with it. Afterwards I found out what really was involved was that Milwaukee didn’t want any money, they wanted players. And New York just didn’t have players to give them and they couldn’t get hold of the players so that was that.

Black Sports : Just to tie up one loose end, you mentioned watching the Pan Am Games and said that you enjoyed them. Isn’t that form of international competition essentially a playing out of nationalistic emotions? Yet your Islamic beliefs are that it is undesirable.

Abdul-Jabbar : It does have certain political overtones. It has definite political overtones, you can’t escape that. I met a young man in Ghana, Sugar Ray Leonard, and he came down to the benefit game that we played in Ghana and it was good to see him because I had heard about him and I was looking forward to meeting him. I’ve always enjoyed boxing. So I think that’s just a basic part of human nature.

Black Sports : How is Islam designed to eliminate those nationalistic tendencies then?

Abdul-Jabbar : All Muslims are brothers. If we believe the same things then I have to feel that you are closer to me than even my blood relative. Alright, so when you have a situation where Muslims are competing against each other—I’m referring to the Pan Am Games and in athletics, I’m not referring to warfare or anything like that—it’s brotherly competition and you relate to people. I’ve been through this and I meta man from Turkey and I met a man from Indonesia and we sat down and talked and we related to the same things, exactly the same things. A man from Turkey is an Arab. A man from Indonesia is not an Arab. I’m not an Arab and yet we’re all brothers. And when we worship, we worship the same way; and when we clean our food we clean our food the same way; and when we wash our bodies, we wash our bodies the same way; and when we bury our dead, we bury our dead in the same manner. This eliminates a great deal of animosity and teaches you how to live with each other and bear with each other’s cultural differences. Because I am a culture different from all those other people and yet and still we’re all the same.

Kareem we appreciate the voice...

Black Sports January 1976
Allan P. Barron Publication

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