Hall Of Fame NBA Legend Compares National Anthem To Slave Song

Abdul-Jabbar, 71, in a Tuesday column for The Hollywood Reporter, recanted what Frederick Douglass said in “My Bondage and My Freedom.”

“Slaves are generally expected to sing as well as to work.” Abdul-Jabbar wrote, adding slaves had to sing their “oppressor’s feel-good songs” as well.

He wrote that the “Star-Spangled Banner” is the song that President Trump – the oppressor – is demanding to be sung.

“Currently, the song being demanded is the national anthem during football games. But during a warm-up game on Aug. 10, despite President Trump's previous condemnation, several Eagles players kneeled during the anthem or raised their fists — their way of singing their own song,” he wrote.

“For them, lyrics like ‘land of the free’ don't accurately represent the daily reality for people of color. They love their country but want that country to recognize the suffering that occurs when it isn't living up to its constitutional promises.”