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Reuters

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Reuters

Los Angeles Lakers legend Kareem Abdul-Jabbar is not one to shy away from speaking his mind out on issues surrounding the sporting world and beyond. Recently, he bashed tennis superstar Novak Djokovic and former tennis star John McEnroe.

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Novak made headlines around the world recently. Due to the vaccine policy, he will not participate in the upcoming US Open tournament. Needless to say, he has the sporting world divided on opinions. While some laud him for taking such a bold stand, some bash him for his ignorance in taking the vaccine.

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Kareem is not a fan of Novak and his decision. Moreover, the former NBA champion also bashed John McEnroe. The former tennis star came to the rescue of Djokovic and called his move ‘gutsy’ while labeling the rules of the tournament ‘bulls**t’.

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Kareem wrote, “While McEnroe worries about Djokovic’s career, he doesn’t worry about the fact that Djokovic knowingly mingled with the public when he knew he was infected with the virus. How much illness and possibly even deaths was he responsible for? What about the careers—not to mention health and lives—of people Djokovic could come in contact with in America.

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He further added, “Yeah, I’m not concerned one bit about multimillionaire Djokovic’s career.” This is not the first time Kareem has touched upon athletes refusing to take the vaccine. He also bashed Brooklyn Nets star Kyrie Irving for a similar reason to that of Djokovic.

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Kareem Abdul-Jabbar voiced his concerns regarding Kyrie Irving

Brooklyn Nets star Kyrie Irving was the center of all the attention last season. He refused to take the vaccine citing personal reasons which was the reason why he wasn’t allowed to play home games for a long time.

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Kareem talked about Irving and commented on how Irving’s decision is causing confusion. Kareem said, “Either you understand what’s going on and you’re going to do the right thing, or you don’t understand what’s going on and you’re going to continue to create all this confusion with your stance.”

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Much like Djokovic, Irving refused to take the vaccine. While this was the reason why he wasn’t allowed to participate in home games, a change in the mandate means that Irving will be fully available for his team this season.

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Do you agree with what Kareem Abdul-Jabbar had to say? Let us know in the comments down below.

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Written by

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Abhinava Ghosh

1,823 Articles

Abhinava Ghosh is an NBA writer at EssentiallySports with a wealth of experience covering the league. He has written over 1400 articles for EssentiallySports, showcasing his expertise in analyzing and reporting on NBA trade rumors, injury updates, and the ever-changing dynamics of the league. He had successfully covered the entire Kevin Durant trade saga at Brooklyn, which led to the basketball legend’s move to the Desert. He also kept our readers updated on the Brittney Griner situation throughout her exile in Russia. One of Abhinava's proudest moments came in 2015 when the Golden State Warriors won the NBA title after 40 years. As a lifelong fan of the Dubs, Abhinava was thrilled to see his team reach the pinnacle of the sport, but he remained objective and professional in his reporting.

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