From shrinking violet to media star

Editor-in-chief Mohammed Al Otaiba sat down with Kareem Abdul-Jabbar for a National Conversation to hear about fame, his conversion to Islam and his drive to promote healthy living, Steve Elling writes.

Kareem Abdul-Jabbar, the NBA legend and all-time leading scorer, talks with The National's editor in chief, Mohammed al Otaiba, in Abu Dhabi. Silvia Razgova / The National

ABU DHABI // During much of his 20-year career in professional basketball, Kareem Abdul-Jabbar was broadly, if not charitably, characterised as enigmatic.

That was perhaps the kindest term ascribed to the 7ft 2in centre, one of the most dominant players in National Basketball Association history. He set a cluster of league records, but was a runaway league leader in another category, one he now regrets.

Abdul-Jabbar not only dominated the sport for two decades, but was also its most inaccessible player, withdrawn and media shy – making the reinvention of his public image all the more remarkable. He dominated the sport for two decades, mostly while wearing a trademark set of goggles to protect his eyes. But they might as well have been dark sunglasses, given that few knew him personally.

Retired as a player since 1989, he has a morphed into a genuine public figure, developed a cultural conscience and become a media bon vivant, with eight books, magazine credits and a slew of television appearances on his resume.

This week, Abdul-Jabbar served as the frontman of a new healthy living campaign involving the Imperial College London Diabetes Centre, which has a clinic in Abu Dhabi, in its fight to stop the escalation of the disease in the region. The Arabian Gulf has one of the highest diabetes rates in the world.

Not long ago, asking Abdul-Jabbar, now 67, to voluntarily stand before the bright camera lights and a table filled with microphones would have provoked little more than an icy stare. Perhaps he was a bit misunderstood after all, since he is clearly making up for lost time.

“I think people were wrong about me all along, but I made my path difficult by being unwilling to engage,” Abdul-Jabbar said on Thursday.

“I just wanted to play basketball. You can’t do that, and I can see that plainly now. But I didn’t understand that for a long time, and it cost me.”

He is paying it forward now.

Abdul-Jabbar’s career dates to an uncertain social period in the United States, and his decision to convert to Islam in 1968 was the source of much wonderment and confusion among fans. Given the explosive racial undercurrent in the US at the time, it was understandable that he became defensive about his religion.

“I certainly would have handled it differently, in that I would have taken more time to explain myself,” he said. “I changed my name and just told everybody: ‘Look, I’m Muslim, don’t ask me any questions.’ That was not wise.

“You have to take the time to explain things and make people feel comfortable with why you do things. I certainly had the ability to do that, and didn’t take the opportunity. In that sense, I missed an opportunity.”

He even had to explain his decision to his parents, which was difficult. He was named after his father, Ferdinand Lewis Alcindor Sr, a New York policeman. Abdul-Jabbar would become one of the most famous Muslim athletes in sports history, perhaps second only to Muhammad Ali, but it was a controversial decision.

“I changed my name because I wanted to have an Islamic identity,” Abdul-Jabbar said. “I felt that the name I was born with was the result of the slave trade, and it was not something I was proud of. I love my family and did not want to reject them.

“I explained it to my parents. I didn’t just tell them, ‘take it or leave it’. I tried to explain because they were concerned.I don’t know how happy they were, but when they saw that it was something I really wanted to do, and that it was sincere in my heart, they tried to accommodate me.”

Whereas his decision to change religions decades ago was greeted mostly by curiosity, Abdul-Jabbar senses that the western views of Islam have changed since the attacks on 9/11, and not for the better.

“People now look at Islam in a different way,” he said. “Moderate Muslims and Muslims who do not believe in murder and anarchy, they have to stand up and make a statement ... I don’t know if they are doing enough. I’d really have to look at that.

“Certainly, the world has not gotten any friendlier to Muslims, and that, again, is a result of all the fanaticism and chaos.”

Before he became a bridge-building healthy living emissary, Abdul-Jabbar blazed trails in other areas, too. In an era before year-round fitness became a n occupational necessity for pro athletes, Abdul-Jabbar discovered yoga. He began meditating while still in high school, then began taking classes in 1970, after he was traded to the Los Angeles Lakers. He met Bikram Choudhury, an instructor with several famous clients.

It was a decision that is at the core of Abdul-Jabbar’s healthy-living mantra.

“He got me doing postures, and that really lengthened my career and enabled me to play very well until the end of my career,” Abdul-Jabbar said.

“It was a real challenge, going to class and seeing all these women, and it was so easy for them. You get jealous and want to learn how to do it.”

Aside from yoga and basketball, he also took lessons from martial-arts movie star Bruce Lee, which helped his flexibility, another of his career-extending attributes. Martial arts are a huge part of the sports picture in the UAE.

“Martial arts helped me in that it made me understand that I needed to be prepared for what I would encounter – and that’s trouble,” Abdul-Jabbar said. “But I applied that to my job, also. Working with Bruce was wonderful, because he was all about being in shape and being prepared for whatever you would encounter. I took those lessons to heart.”

While enrolled at the University of California at Los Angeles, Abdul-Jabbar played for John Wooden, the most successful college coach in basketball history. Wooden, who died in 2010 at the age of 99, was just as renowned for the messages he imparted to players that had little to do with the sport.

“I don’t know if it was like playing for Yoda, but it was a great experience,” Abdul-Jabbar said. “He was a very wise man, and he taught us how to be great athletes, but he also taught us how to be great husbands, fathers and good citizens. He wanted us to educate ourselves and do good things in the world. I will always have a place in my heart for him.He was an extraordinary human being.”

That similar terms might someday be used to describe Abdul-Jabbar’s crusade to stem the global diabetes tide speaks volumes about the reclamation of his public persona.

“Diet and exercise are the keys to longevity and healthy living,” he said. “If that message gets across in the UAE, then I have done my job.”