Kareem Abdul-Jabbar says fans prefer Magic Johnson because he 'made white people feel comfortable'
NBA legends and former Los Angeles Lakers teammates Kareem Abdul-Jabbar and Magic Johnson have never seemed a lot alike — in playing styles or in personality. In an interview with The New York Times, Abdul-Jabbar, 68, offered up some candid commentary as to why Johnson drew more support from both fans and the press in the '80s.
"I understood why people liked him," Abdul-Jabbar said. "He had that great smile, so white people thought his life was okay. They thought that racism had not affected him. They were wrong, of course. But that's what they saw when they saw him. Magic made white people feel comfortable. With themselves."
The Week
Escape your echo chamber. Get the facts behind the news, plus analysis from multiple perspectives.
Sign up for The Week's Free Newsletters
From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.
From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.
Check out the whole profile here, especially if you've been dying to know what it's like taking a casual trip to the zoo with a basketball great.
-
Four Seasons Seoul: a fascinating blend of old and new in South KoreaThe Week Recommends Located right in the heart of the action, this classy hotel is the perfect base to explore the capital
-
How to make the most of chestnutsThe Week Recommends These versatile nuts have way more to offer than Nat King Cole ever let on
-
Deaths for children under 5 have gone up for the first time this centuryUnder the radar Poor funding is the culprit
-
Son arrested over killing of Rob and Michele ReinerSpeed Read Nick, the 32-year-old son of Hollywood director Rob Reiner, has been booked for the murder of his parents
-
Rob Reiner, wife dead in ‘apparent homicide’speed read The Reiners, found in their Los Angeles home, ‘had injuries consistent with being stabbed’
-
Hungary’s Krasznahorkai wins Nobel for literatureSpeed Read László Krasznahorkai is the author of acclaimed novels like ‘The Melancholy of Resistance’ and ‘Satantango’
-
Primatologist Jane Goodall dies at 91Speed Read She rose to fame following her groundbreaking field research with chimpanzees
-
Florida erases rainbow crosswalk at Pulse nightclubSpeed Read The colorful crosswalk was outside the former LGBTQ nightclub where 49 people were killed in a 2016 shooting
-
Trump says Smithsonian too focused on slavery's illsSpeed Read The president would prefer the museum to highlight 'success,' 'brightness' and 'the future'
-
Trump to host Kennedy Honors for Kiss, StalloneSpeed Read Actor Sylvester Stallone and the glam-rock band Kiss were among those named as this year's inductees
-
White House seeks to bend Smithsonian to Trump's viewSpeed Read The Smithsonian Institution's 21 museums are under review to ensure their content aligns with the president's interpretation of American history
