Answering Fan Mail On Olympics Boycott: 1968 vs. 2008

I have received many comments on my article about the Olympics Boycott, on paper and online - so here we go:



To Frank Antonacci, Sid Holmes, Dean Nelson, Jim Beran, Steve Adams,
Ed Robinson, Steve Baker, Arthur Carlson, Rich Larsen, Clarence
Chappell, Greg Gose, Jamile, Ed Shatzen, Carla Nardoni, Christian
DeBlis, Bill Lundy, Bob Guild... Thanks for your support.



To Beau... An Olympic medal would have been a nice experience for me
but I felt that my diploma was a more important priority and stayed
with my summer job. Thanks.



To Klaus Beiten... Klaus stated that many other nations have issues
with U.S. that are quite similar to the issues other say that they have
with China. I am very aware of the double standards that stick out when
life in America is compared with life in other countries. Truly not one
nation on Earth can claim it is doing a perfect job in caring for all
of its citizens. We have a ways to go as a species. I hope more people
like us are able to reach out and create more awareness on these issues.



To Robert Liu... Thanks for your response to my article. I hope
there will be more opportunities for our various communities to
interact. All the best, K.



To Chuck Reilly... As I clearly stated in my article there was no
boycott of the '68 Olympics. I personally did not boycott those
Olympics nor do I regret not going. Our nation was represented by
outstanding basketball athletes in 68 who won the gold medal. I am
proud and happy to say that I don't hate anyone based on their
ethnicity. I've had issues with how some white people have treated
black Americans through the years. You might want to google Emmitt
Till, Medgar Evers or Martin Luther King Jr., also the movie
"Mississippi Burning". The last thing I should share with you is the
fact that any issues between myself and my high school coach were
amicably resolved long before he passed away. Sorry to disappoint you.
Oh and the R.I. tourney was in December of '63.



To Kai Chen... Thanks for your informative e-mail that shares info
on the nature of the Chinese Communist Party. Detailed information on
that subject was not available to me before I heard from you. I will
not be totally ignorant about that subject in the future. I hope that
athletes such as yourself will be able to attain the democratic
freedoms we take for granted.





And finally thank you all, and each one of you. Your K.

 

 •  0 comments  •  flag
Share on Twitter
Published on May 09, 2008 01:47
No comments have been added yet.


Kareem Abdul-Jabbar's Blog

Kareem Abdul-Jabbar
Kareem Abdul-Jabbar isn't a Goodreads Author (yet), but they do have a blog, so here are some recent posts imported from their feed.
Follow Kareem Abdul-Jabbar's blog with rss.