NBA all-time scorer Kareem Abdul-Jabbar penned an essay on Will Smith’s slap at the Academy Awards.
“With a single petulant blow, he advocated violence, diminished women, insulted the entertainment industry, and perpetuated stereotypes about the Black community,” Abdul-Jabbar wrote.
The retired center published his essay on Substack Monday, and it gained popularity online after Abdul-Jabbar tweeted it Tuesday.
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“This patronizing, paternal attitude infantilizes women and reduces them to helpless damsels needing a Big Strong Man to defend their honor least they swoon from the vapors,” Adbul-Jabbar wrote. “Those who protect don’t brag about it in front of 15 million people. They just do it and shut up.”
“You don’t do it as a movie promotion claiming how you’re like the character you just won an award portraying,” he added. “By using these women to virtue signal, he was in fact exploiting them to benefit himself. But, of course, the speech was about justifying his violence.”
“Nailed it,” actress Bette Middler wrote in response on Twitter.
“Hi Bette- much appreciate you showing me some love [and] respect on my article,” Abdul-Jabbar replied.
Hi Bette- much appreciate you showing me some love & respect on my article just want to be sure your fans can locate me directly instead of Yahoo… it’s my pleasure to write to inform fans in a entertaining logical and calm manner. https://t.co/tXWxQHgSmR https://t.co/hXfo3Te9iv
— Kareem Abdul-Jabbar (@kaj33) March 30, 2022
“The best piece I’ve seen written about the Will Smith incident,” professional poker player Erik Seidel chimed in.
The best piece I’ve seen written about the Will Smith incident https://t.co/DQ167qcysk
— Erik Seidel (@Erik_Seidel) March 29, 2022
“Hard to imagine anyone saying this better, more thoughtfully, or with as much credibility as Kareem Abdul-Jabbar,” news host Ben Mankiewicz wrote.
Hard to imagine anyone saying this better, more thoughtfully, or with as much credibility as Kareem Abdul-Jabbar.
Will Smith Did a Bad, Bad Thing – Kareem Abdul-Jabbar https://t.co/NS8zrp5173— Ben Mankiewicz (@BenMank77) March 29, 2022
“Hard to argue with this,” actor Corey Reynolds wrote. “Excellent piece by Kareem Abdul-Jabbar.”
Hard to argue with this. Excellent piece by Kareem Abdul-Jabbar.
Will Smith Did a Bad, Bad Thing – Kareem Abdul-Jabbar https://t.co/mrPqhpedmM
— Corey?Reynolds (@coreyreynoldsLA) March 29, 2022
However, his piece did not resonate with all who read it.
“Kareem—could not disagree more with this. What one Black person does, doesn’t represent the entire community,” writer Marcus Johnson wrote. “In fact that is what the racists want people to think. Nobody would say Trump, with all of his racist baggage, represents the entire white community.”
Kareem — could not disagree more with this. What one Black person does, doesn’t represent the entire community. In fact that is what the racists want people to think. Nobody would say Trump, with all of his racist baggage, represents the entire white community. https://t.co/xuH1AyiPrN pic.twitter.com/Xw6CThtGdQ
— Marcus H. Johnson (@marcushjohnson) March 30, 2022
“You can agree that Will was wrong without agreeing that the actions of one person reflect the Black community,” actress Malynda Hale wrote.
is entirely too much pressure put on Black people to constantly be the representative of their race. People love to point to the Black people they view as “civilized” when they are trying to discredit how active racism and discrimination is in our society. But the minute…
— Malynda Hale (@MalyndaHale) March 30, 2022
“But didn’t he punc…nevermind,” author Tee Franklin wrote, referring to the game where Abdul-Jabbar punched fellow NBA player Kent Benson in 1977.
But didn’t he punc…nevermind https://t.co/bgzBRGfKjU
— PREORDER HARLEY QUINN EAT BANG KILL TRADE NOW! (@MizTeeFranklin) March 30, 2022
The infamous game was Benson’s NBA debut as the No. 1 draft pick. At the time, Benson was playing for the Milwaukee Bucks and Abdul-Jabbar was playing for Los Angeles Lakers. As centers, the two went head-to-head the entire game, exchanging elbows and rough play.
Both were of comparable size, with Benson at 6’4″ and 235 pounds and Abdul-Jabbar at 7’2″ and 225 pounds. Abdul-Jabbar punched Benson in his head, seemingly out of the blue. As a result, he broke his hand and paid a $5,000 fine, a record at the time.
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“I’m so sorry I did that,” Abdul-Jabbar said on a podcast last fall. He was 30 years old when he landed his punch. Benson suffered a concussion and went on to play 11 more seasons.
