Kareem Abdul-Jabbar Lands Second Opinion Column

On sports talk radio this week, more than a few callers were dropping the name of the Lakers all-time blocks and personal fouls leader as a potential candidate to replace Mike D'Antoni. But the way things are going, Kareem is going to be way too busy asking questions as a journalist to entertain the idea of answering them as an NBA coach. On the heels of joining the Los Angeles Register as a Wednesday columnist, the master of the sky hook has been afforded some similar, bi-monthly real estate with Time. Abdul-Jabbar will appear online, in print and in a regular video series. He will also, this weekend, be sitting at Time's White House Correspondents Dinner table alongside actress Lupita NYong'o, Uber CEO Travis Kalanick and others. Although Kareem might have glossed over in his first Time contribution one key aspect relating to release of the Donald Sterling audio recording, it is the reaction to that great overall piece that led the magazine to bring him on as a regular columnist. We're referring to the fact that Kareem did not mention V. Stiviano's adamant claims that she was asked by Sterling to record the conversation as part of a larger, "archivist" role. From Kareem's piece: Shouldn’t we be equally angered by the fact that his private, intimate conversation was taped and then leaked to the media? Didn’t we just call to task the NSA for intruding into American citizen’s privacy in such an un-American way? Although the impact is similar to Mitt Romney’s comments that were secretly taped, the difference is that Romney was giving a public speech. The making and release of this tape is so sleazy that just listening to it makes me feel like an accomplice to the crime. Speaking of which, if - as Stiviano also insists - she was not the one who gave TMZ the tape, then all eyes of some enterprising media outlet should be on the courts. It's likely someone involved with a lawsuit filed against Stiviano by Sterling's wife is responsible for giving or selling the audio to TMZ. After TMZ in 2006 famously got hold of a Los Angeles Sheriff's Department report about the arrest of Mel Gibson, much time was spent on the LASD side trying to identify the leak culprit. While evidence pointed to one particular force member, there was not enough conclusive proof to justify disciplinary action. [Photo of Abdul-Jabbar at 2006 Hollywood Walk of Fame induction ceremony for Dr. Jerry Buss: s_bukley/Shutterstock.com]

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Kareem Abdul-Jabbar Lands Second Opinion Column

Richard Horgan

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Richard Horgan