from Abhinava Ghosh of Essentially Sports
Kareem Abdul-Jabbar asserted in a recent article that although he is a fan of the Washington Capitals superstar, the NBA legend feels he is a ‘political jerk’ because of his controversial views. Moreover, separating the player from the man, the Los Angeles Lakers icon suggested some measures to punish Ovie for his continued support for Russia’s onslaught in Ukraine.
Dismissing any claims for Canada to ban the NHL superstar, Kareem wrote on his blog, “There are other options: the NHL could suspend him, his teammates could refuse to play with him, other teams could refuse to play against him, fans could refuse to buy tickets or watch games he plays in, sponsors could fire him. Preferably all of the above.”
He further added, “When you use your public platform to support a warmongering dictator and murderer (why do so many of Putin’s enemies fall out of windows?), you get what you deserve. Ovechkin is not a man fighting for equality and against injustice, just more killing. That is not a man whose athletic feats I want to celebrate. Nor do I want our children to look up to him as a hero.“
In the same article, he asserted that he is supportive of athletes voicing their opinions. However, in this instance, he feels voicing support for warmongering dictators defeats the purpose of free speech and prompts the need for consequences. Additionally, he suggested he wouldn’t want Ovechkin to face any consequences if had refused to comment on the situation.
he asserted that he is supportive of athletes voicing their opinions. However, in this instance, he feels that he doesn't like Ovie's opinion.
FTFY.
Look, Russia is obviously up to no good. But I see plenty of reasons why Ovie has kept quiet the past year about his country. Did he support Putin in the past? Yes. Does he currently? Not sure. I wouldn't expect him to flip on Putin PUBLICLY given he still has family in Russia (as Kareem himself said, "why do so many of Putins enemies fall out of windows?").
It's a mess of a situation but it's just downright obnoxious to suggest suspending this guy all while talking about freedom of speech. And it reeks of "You are entitled to your opinion as long as it doesn't offend me".
https://linksharing.samsungclo...
"People don't want to hear your opinion. They want to hear THEIR opinion coming out of YOUR mouth." (In case the link goes bust).
Im glad you said that, its exactly what I was hoping to hear.
Ah good...the "free speech" crowd. If you support a known, decades-long, murdering dictator then by all means let everyone know about it. It's always good to know who the assholes are when you walk into a room, and usually they let you know right away with their own words and actions. He deserves to be called out. Over and over and over again. Free speech? Yeah...no. That's not even remotely the issue here as much you LOVE to pretend it is.
A lot of reasons for Ovi to keep his mouth shut right now. His former support for Putin is obviously worthy of condemnation. Its not like Putin turned into an asshole in the past year, after all. A tough spot. Weird that Kareem of all people would be vocal on this topic.
Kareem disproves his own statement.
"Fry, remember when we said we'd tell you should have stopped talking two sentences ago? This is one of those times." -Turanga Leela
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