The NBA announced the creation of a new season award and the league is naming it after a legendary Los Angeles Laker.
The “Kareem Abdul-Jabbar Social Justice Champion” award is the newest award by the league that will acknowledge a current player who advocates for social justice and campaigns for diversity and inclusion. The 6 Time NBA Champion was a role model on and off the court.
Abdul-Jabbar is a great leader and model for such an award title due to his tremendous work in the past. In protest to the assassination of civil rights leaders Malcolm X and Martin Luther King Jr,, he helped set up a boycott of the 1968 Olympics along with famed sociologist Harry Edwards. He has also steadily putting in work to improve conditions for disenfranchised Black people in America.
The league will select a player after each season, honoring the individual who demonstrates a commitment to bringing awareness to social justice and inequalities. NBA clubs will nominate one player for the award, and finalists of the group will donate a combined $200,000 to social justice organizations.
“It’s nice to see the NBA try to promote social justice awareness, and I am very flattered they would see fit to name the award after me,” Abdul-Jabbar told The Undefeated. “I know I have some history with this, so I’m happy the way it’s worked out.”
All 30 NBA teams will nominate a player for the award, and finalists will be selected by a seven-person committee composed of league executives, activists, and former NBA players.
“In addition to being one of our greatest players, Kareem Abdul-Jabbar has devoted much of his life to advocating for equality and social justice,” NBA Commissioner Adam Silver said in a statement. “With this new award, we are proud to recognize and celebrate NBA players who are using their influence to make an impact on their communities and our broader society.”
NBA announces new social justice award named after Kareem Abdul-Jabbar
The annual award will recognize players making strides in the fight for social justice pic.twitter.com/YeCr72XcuB
— Bleacher Report (@BleacherReport) May 13, 2021
This weekend, another Los Angeles Lakers great in Kobe Bryant will be inducted into the Hall Of Fame. The presentation will be done by none other than Michael Jordan himself. The League’s greatest players continue to help the image of their communities by their post career achievements.
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