UCLA Great Kareem Abdul-Jabbar Joined MSNBC To Discuss Donald Trump
Kareem Abdul-Jabbar, former UCLA Basketball great (also known as Lew Alcindor), joined Rachel Maddow of MSNBC to discuss Presidential candidate Donald Trump.
Go Joe Bruin is a website that focuses on the athletic teams and players of UCLA. The point of writing about UCLA sports is to cover and report on all things regarding your Bruins. Very, very rarely do we cross over into politics in our discussions, but sometimes UCLA athletes are involved in situations that do cross over into that realm.
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That happened yesterday when former UCLA basketball great Kareem Abdul-Jabbar (aka Lew Alcindor) went on MSNBC to talk with Rachel Maddow about presidential candidate Donald Trump.
Two days ago, Abdul-Jabbar had penned a letter in the Washington Post comparing Trump and another presidential candidate, Bernie Sanders. The point of his essay focused on the relationship both men have with the media, pointing out that Sanders is a “mature, thoughtful and intelligent man” while Trump is a “bully”.
The point of the essay seemed to focus on how Trump tries to intimidate and shut down the media (which is why this is hits home for Go Joe Bruin, a news/information/opinion site).
In an almost prophetic reaction, Trump responded to Abdul-Jabbar by making the claim, “Now I know why the press always treated you so badly.” Abdul-Jabbar responded, “the bully proves my point.”
Abdul-Jabbar joined the Rachel Maddow Show to talk about Trump and his reaction to the essay. When Maddow asked the basketball legend about why he singled out Trump’s attacks on the media, he responded with this:
"It bothers me because the First Amendment is such an essential part of what our democracy is about and when you attack journalists in order to silence criticism, you’re really stifling public discourse."
Here is the video of his interview with Maddow:
Whether you agree or disagree with Abdul-Jabbar, there is truth to what he is saying. There is a time and a place to act the way Trump has and to be as volatile as he is towards the media — by kicking them out of press conferences or making fun of them — it all becomes a bit dangerous. When Trump tries to silence those that want answers, it goes against the beliefs of what this nation was built on.
Like I stated before, Go Joe Bruin is not here to get political, but when one of our own Bruins is in the spotlight talking about a topic as critical as this, we like to take time out to recognize the truth they are trying to reveal in hopes that it not only helps us now, but future generation as well.
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