NBA legend Kareem Abdul-Jabbar attacks US president Donald Trump over DEI

Basketball legend Kareem Abdul-Jabbar made headlines during Jackie Robinson Day at Dodger Stadium on 15 April. The former NBA player grabbed eyeballs not just for paying tribute to Robinson, but for calling out U.S. President Donald Trump’s campaign against diversity, equity, and inclusion (DEI) programs.

In June 2021, former U.S. President Joe Biden signed an executive order. It was meant to make sure that the U.S. government hires people from all kinds of backgrounds and gives everyone a fair chance at jobs. The order asked government departments to come up with plans for making their workplaces more diverse and to hire special officers to lead 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 running DEI programs. He said these programs were unfair, not based on merit, and caused division among groups.

What did Kareem Abdul-Jabbar say?

Kareem Abdul-Jabbar, who played in the National Basketball Association (NBA) for Milwaukee Bucks and Los Angeles Lakers, used the opportunity to speak out against Trump’s efforts to remove DEI initiatives. He said Trump’s moves were just a "ruse to discriminate" and warned people to stay alert.

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He also talked about how Trump’s administration had deleted online articles that highlighted the contributions of people like Harriet Tubman and Jackie Robinson, who became the first African-American to play in the Major League Baseball (MLB) in modern era. These articles were later restored after public backlash.

"Trump wants to get rid of DEI. And I think it’s just a ruse to discriminate. So I’m glad that we do things like this, to let everybody in the country know what’s important. They also tried to get rid of Harriet Tubman. But that didn’t work. There was just uproar about that. But you have to take that into consideration when we think about what’s going on today," Abdul-Jabbar said.

Dodgers criticised for visiting the White House

Just a few days before this ceremony, the entire Los Angeles Dodgers team including manager Dave Roberts, star shortstop Mookie Betts, and Kike Hernandez had visited the White House and met with Donald Trump. That upset many people, especially since some of the players had previously spoken against Trump.

"I don’t personally view it as talking out of both sides of our mouth. I understand how people feel that way. But I do think that supporting our country, staying unified, aligned, is what I believe in personally. I just believe in doing things the right way and I think people are going to have their opinions on what we did last week, but I do know that we all stand unified and we all have different stories and backgrounds and economic, political beliefs. But I was proud that we all stood together,” Roberts said.

“Being Black in America in a situation like this, it’s a tough spot to be in. No matter what I choose, somebody’s going to be pissed. Somebody’s going to have an opinion. I told them I needed to think about it. Nobody else in this clubhouse has to go through a decision like this, except me," Betts said.