CAMBRIDGE, Mass. (AP) – Kareem Abdul-Jabbar didn’t mention either Donald Trump or Hillary Clinton by name, but the presidential election was on his mind when he came to Harvard on Saturday to talk to the players on the Crimson basketball team.
Nor did the Basketball Hall of Famer need to cite Colin Kaepernick by name when he said current sports stars were “getting their baptism” in social movements.
“I’m glad to see that the younger athletes are concerned and saying something about it. That’s how we solve things,” Abdul-Jabbar told reporters before meeting with the players.
“The Founding Fathers gave us a great method. But it requires us to listen, and to inform others of our ideas in a polite and understanding way. They have a ways to go.”
Wearing a Harvard cap and sweatshirt, Abdul-Jabbar ducked his head to get through the door of the conference room overlooking the school’s 113-year-old football stadium. Soon he would be joined by the players – all of them born long after he scored the last of his NBA record 38,387 points.