I’ll be honest….I didn’t know how to take this photo when I first saw it. Yesterday was the great Kareem Abdul-Jabbar’s 65th birthday, and the proper respects were paid all across the internets and folks who respect basketball and history. Kareem always seemed poised, calm and composed on the court. Yes, he had his moments where he’d talk crazy and wag his finger in someone’s face, but that’s in the heat of the moment. Everyone’s prone to those moments.
But giving three people on the other team the double bird salute, with the ‘fro styled in such a fashion that Angela Davis would be proud, and Kareem with a look on his face that signified he was definitely “about that life”? Yikes.
Respect the sky hook, respect the champion and respect the double bird salute as we present your morning reading Starting Lineups on Tuesday.
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Eddie Maisonet is the founder and editor emeritus of The Sports Fan Journal. Currently, he serves as an associate editor for ESPN.com. He is an unabashed Russell Westbrook and Barry Switzer apologist, owns over 100 fitteds and snapbacks, and lives by Reggie Jackson’s famous quote, “I am the straw that stirs the drink.”
Clyde Lee of Vanderbilt was a racist of the first order and Jeff Mullins from Duke probably wasn’t far behind. I’m sure that’s who those double barrels were aimed at
I have no idea who Clyde Lee actually is, but he just looks racist. LOL
Good post
Kareem was an unstoppable offensive force in his prime, but it wasn’t brute force. He had more of a wiry frame and was constantly challenged on a physical level. He learned that the only way to combat this was to give as good as he got. It was either fight back or reduce his game to taking 20 foot jumpers (cough cough, Ralph Sampson, cough cough).
I can see this from Kareem. I can also see him giving them the footprint to the chest if they wanted a piece like he did Bruce Lee in Game of Death.