Laker Alex Caruso Discusses What He Learned From Kareem Abdul-Jabbar In His Forum On Race
Alex Caruso paid close attention when Kareem Abdul-Jabbar led the Lakers in a recent forum on race.
“Obviously, anytime you get to listen to a guy like Kareem it’s a great honor," Caruso said, pointing out that he's not only a basketball legend, but also an impactful social rights activist.
Abdul-Jabbar, a six-time NBA champion and the league's all-time leading scorer, has been very vocal about racism amid nationwide unrest following the murder of George Floyd. He wrote an op-ed for the Los Angeles Times, did multiple television interviews -- and took the time to have a private chat with his former team.
His words resonated with Caruso.
"From my perspective of being a white guy in a predominately Black league, just tell the truth," Caruso said. "Tell what’s going on, be an advocate for the people and be a voice for the people that can’t be heard. It’s a long-run game. This isn’t going to change in a month. Probably won’t get changed in a year. It’s going to be time and time again where you’re going to have to step up, be courageous, use your voice and try to make an impact and change lives for the better. I think those were the two things that I took away from it from my perspective.”
After Floyd's death, Caruso has been very active on Twitter denouncing racism and calling out abuses of power. He criticized President Donald Trump in early June for forcefully moving peaceful protestors in front of the White House so he could pose for a photo in front of a church with a bible.
When one of his followers named Wayland Smith told him to "just dribble," Caruso retorted, "Been playing mostly off ball this season, I’m good Wayland."
Caruso said standing up for what's right is the least he can do.
"I feel like it costs zero dollars and zero cents to be a good person to treat everybody how they are supposed to be treated regardless of race, gender, age, political views," Caruso said.
Caruso added that he is strongly behind the Black Lives Matter movement and he will do everything in his power to show his support.
"I’m 100% backing Black teammates, Black coaches, anybody who I’ve never had the opportunity to live the life they have, to experience the things they do," Caruso said. "Part of my role as the white guy on the team and a white guy in the league is understanding and realizing I’m never going to understand what they actually go through but being there to support them and be a crutch for them to lean on whenever they need it.”
