Sports Bulls

Kareem Abdul-Jabbar says Michael Jordan chose shoe sales 'over conscience'

By Dan Cahill

Kareem Abdul-Jabbar was very outspoken about Michael Jordan’s lack of social conscience. | Getty Images

Kareem Abdul-Jabbar has never been afraid to stand tall for what he believes is right.

The outspoken NBA legend and Time magazine columnist took Michael Jordan to task for worrying more about sneaker sales than social “conscience.”

During a Q&A with NPR, Jabbar was asked if he ever paid a price for speaking out. He said he had. Then, the topic of Jordan came up.

On Michael Jordan’s statement — when asked to endorse Harvey Gantt in his Senate campaign against a candidate with retrograde racial attitudes — that Republicans buy sneakers, too. Abdul-Jabbar responded: You can’t be afraid of losing shoe sales if you’re worried about your civil and human rights. He took commerce over conscience. It’s unfortunate for him, but he’s gotta live with it.

[nicelink url=http://chicago.suntimes.com/basketball/7/71/1071540/time-master-p-defeated-michael-jordan-pickup-game-sneakers]

Abdul-Jabbar is the NBA’s all-time leading scorer with 38,387 points. Jordan is fourth behind Karl Malone and Kobe Bryant with 32,292.

Abdul-Jabbar’s complete interview with NPR:

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