Lakers: Kareem Abdul-Jabbar Formally Apologizes to LeBron James
This past weekend, Kareem Abdul-Jabbar had some harsh words for how LeBron James handles himself as a prominent public figure. Considering the stature of Kareem and LeBron, Cap's comments were headline news.
The six-time NBA champion issued an apology on Sunday evening, but issued a more formal apology on Monday in an appearance on SiriusXM NBA Radio. ESPN's Dave McMenamin was one of the first to report.
Kareem directly addressed his previous words.
"It wasn't my intention to criticize LeBron in any way. He has done so much for the Black community as well as for the game of basketball. We may not always agree, but I want to wholeheartedly apologize to LeBron and make it clear to him that I have tremendous respect for him. And if he can accept that, I'll be very happy."
The NBA's all-time leading scorer admitted that he simply didn't get it "right" this past weekend.
"I've been talking to the press since high school, that's 60 years of making statements. And I haven't always gotten it right. And Sunday was one of those nights."
The Lakers icon was at Crypto.com Arena to give Carmelo Anthony the NBA Social Justice Champion award. His initial remarks about LeBron were spurned from questions from reporters.
As of Wednesday evening, LeBron hasn't publicly responded to Kareem's criticism or his apology.
This likely won't be the last time LeBron and Kareem will be asked about each other. LeBron appears to be on track to overtake Kareem as the league's all-time leading scorer sometime next season.
Cap has no issues with LeBron eventually taking the crown from him:
"I'm all for him doing it."
