Kareem Abdul-Jabbar’s basketball legend criticized Donald Trump’s anti-DEC position during Jackie Robinson Day at Dodger Stadium. Here is what Abdul-Jabbar said and how the recent visit to the Dodgers at the White House added to the controversy.
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Kareem Abdul-Jabbar basketball legend made the headlines during the Jackie Robinson Day at Dodger Stadium on April 15. The former NBA player seized eye globes not only for paying tribute to Robinson, but for calling the campaign of US President Donald Trump against diversity, equity and inclusion (DEI).
In June 2021, former American president Joe Biden signed a decree. He had to make sure that the American government hires people of all kinds of backgrounds and gives everyone a fair chance of jobs. The order asked government services to offer plans to make their workplaces more diverse and hire special officers to direct these efforts.
But in January 2025, after Trump took over the White House, he signed a new order. This canceled Biden’s order. Trump’s order told government agencies to stop managing Dei programs. He said these programs were unfair, not based on merit, and caused the division between groups.
42 forever. # Jackie42 pic.twitter.com/1kgkh1mju9
– Los Angeles Dodgers (@Dodgers) April 16, 2025
What does Kareem Abdul-Jabbar say?
Kareem Abdul-Jabbar, who played the National Basketball Association (NBA) for Milwaukee Bucks and Los Angeles Lakers, took the opportunity to denounce Trump’s efforts to remove the Dei’s initiatives. He said Trump’s movements were just a “cunning to discriminate” and warned people to remain vigilant.
He also explained how Trump’s administration had deleted online articles that highlighted people’s contributions like Harriet Tubman and Jackie Robinson, who became the first African-American to play in the Major Baseball League (MLB) in the modern era. These items were then restored after the public offices.
“Trump wants to get rid of Dei. And I think it’s just a trick to discriminate. So I’m glad we do things like that, to let everyone in the country know what is important. They also tried to get rid of Harriet Tubman. But that didn’t work.
The Dodgers criticized for visiting the White House
Only a few days before this ceremony, the entire Los Angeles Dodgers team, including manager Dave Roberts, Star Mookie Betts and Kike Hernandez Stop, had visited the White House and met Donald Trump. It has turned a lot of people upset, especially since some of the players had already spoken against Trump.
“I do not personally consider this as speaking on both sides of our mouth. I understand how people feel this way. But I think that supporting our country, staying unified, aligned, is what I believe personally. I just think of doing things in the right way and I think people will have their stories and history and history, I know that we all have stories and history and history and history and economic backgrounds, political beliefs, proud all, we all have stories and history and history background. Said Roberts.
“Being black in America in a situation like this, it is a difficult place to be. No matter what I choose, someone will be annoyed. Someone will have an opinion. I told them that I had to think about it. No one in this clubhouse must go through a decision like this, except me,” said Betts.
