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“Women can defend themselves, Will Smith!”: Kareem Abdul-Jabbar slams actor for his infamous altercation with Chris Rock for his distasteful jokes on Jada Pinkett-Smith

Tonoy Sengupta
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"Women can defend themselves, Will Smith!": Kareem Abdul-Jabbar slams actor for his infamous altercation with Chris Rock for his distasteful jokes on Jada Pinkett-Smith

Lakers legend Kareem Abdul-Jabbar issues his thoughts on the Will Smith, Chris Rock and Jada Pinkett-Smith controversy

It isn’t just basketball Kareem Abdul-Jabbar exhibited a special talent for. No, instead, the man has started his own blog. And frankly, it’s a good one too.

Whenever he can, the former NBA player comments on current events and issues he feels strongly on, through the blog. And he does it so well… let’s just say we’re getting a bit worried that he is coming for our livelihood.

Recently, Abdul-Jabbar decided to comment on the massive and raw controversy of Will Smith, Jada Pinkett Smith, and Chris Rock. And let’s just say, his thoughts are something you’re going to want to know.

Before we get started though, in case you may be just a tad bit unfamiliar with the controversy we are talking about here, take a look at the clip below.

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Now that you’re all set, how about we shift our focus to what the NBA legend had to say on the matter?

Also Read: “Michael Jordan would be crying, if he rolled his ankle like LeBron James!”: NBA Twitter explodes as Lakers star puts on dominant showing despite injury

Kareem Abdul-Jabbar slams Will Smith for altercation with Chris Rock in the middle of Awards Ceremony

In case you may not be aware, the reason Smith was so incensed with the seemingly harmless joke, is because Jada Pinkett-Smith suffers from a condition known as Alopecia. This is a condition that causes massive amounts of hair loss, which has caused Pinkett-Smith to shave her head.

So, with Chris Rock laughing at the expense of her medical condition, everyone would look to romanticize his actions from the event, right? Well, here is an excerpt from Kareem Abdul-Jabbar’s piece on the matter, which prominently goes in a very different direction.

(Will) Smith’s slap was also a slap to women. If Rock had physically attacked Pinkett Smith, Smith’s intervention would have been welcome. Or if he’d remained in his seat and yelled his post-slap threat, that would have been unnecessary, but understandable. But by hitting Rock, he announced that his wife was incapable of defending herself—against words. From everything I’d seen of Pinkett Smith over the years, she’s a very capable, tough, smart woman who can single-handedly take on a lame joke at the Academy Awards show.

If we’re being honest here, we can’t help but agree with Abdul-Jabbar on this one.

Yes, Will Smith and Jada Pinkett-Smith were justified in feeling the anger they did. But, not only could the couple have simply shouted back with verbal messages of their own, but the latter is also strong enough to defend herself.

We don’t think Smith should be tied to a stake for his action by any means. But, as he has said in his apology, perhaps a bit of rational thinking would have helped everyone involved.

Perhaps this will serve as a reference for any potential future… entanglements.

Also Read: ‘Michael Jordan gave LeBron James his number but he never called’: Lakers’ star’s insane competitiveness may have kept him from contacting the NBA GOAT

About the author

Tonoy Sengupta

Tonoy Sengupta

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Tonoy Sengupta is a Senior Editor at The SportsRush. Coming from an athletically inclined family, he has been surrounded by sports ever since he was 4 years old. But, while initially pouring all his time into Football (soccer), at 14, Tonoy discovered basketball through the countless highlights of Stephen Curry humiliating players from Curry Land. And just like that, a fiery passion for the game was ignited within Tonoy. And soon after, he decided to become a student of journalism, graduating in 2022, and choosing sports as his area of interest. Today, you can find him spending 99% of his time browsing through every type of content on every team in the NBA, before uncorking everything he has found to the world. In the 1% he isn't doing this, you can find him playing Basketball, Football, Volleyball, or practically any other sport he has had the opportunity to learn.

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