Getting to know Abdul-Jabbar

Kareem Abdul-Jabbar is one of the greatest basketball players of all time. He's a 6 time NBA MVP, 6 time NBA Champion, and held the title for most points scored in total for 40 years. But for all his accolades, he has never won an Olympic medal.

This is because before Kareem was known as Kareem, NBA superstar, he was Lew Alcindor, a young Black man who played basketball for UCLA and wanted to make a difference in the midst of the Civil Rights and Black Power movements. In the thick of racial tensions in America and the assassination of key Black leaders Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. and Malcolm X, Abdul-Jabbar announced that he would refuse to play for and support Team USA in the 1968 Mexico City Olympics alongside other high profile athletes, including Muhammad Ali, John Carlos, Tommie Smith and Bill Russell. Despite being the youngest in this group, Kareem Abdul-Jabbar made his voice unapologetically heard.

By boycotting the 1968 Olympics, Kareem Abdul-Jabbar positioned himself at the forefront of athlete activism. His decision was a defining moment in the fight for civil rights, setting a precedent for athletes who would later use their platforms to advocate for justice. His refusal to play was not an act of selfishness but a declaration that Black athletes had the power to shape the national conversation on race and inequality.