NBA legend Kareem Abdul-Jabbar takes aim at Trump's 'tyrannical administration' during Harvard speech
NBA icon Kareem Abdul-Jabbar has praised Harvard University amid its ongoing battle with Donald Trump.
The six-time NBA champion hit out at the president and his administration as he addressed the elite university's graduating seniors during Wednesday's Class Day celebration.
Speaking at Harvard's Tercentenary Theatre during the annual ceremony, the 78-year-old branded Trump's White House 'tyrannical' as he reflected on his own social activism.
Abdul-Jabbar went on to recall Martin Luther King Jr.'s claim that 'if anything happens to me there will be others to take my place.'
'One of the reasons I'm so pleased to be here today is because I view Harvard University as being among the "others" willing to take Dr. King's place,' Abdul-Jabbar said, via the Boston Globe.
'When a tyrannical administration tried to bully and threaten Harvard to give up their academic freedom and destroy free speech, [Harvard President] Dr. Alan Garber rejected the illegal and immoral pressures the way Rosa Parks declined...' he continued to riotous applause.
The Los Angeles Lakers legend's remarks come amid Harvard's feud with Trump's administration after the president has cut billions in federal funding from the institution.
Trump additionally vowed to make Harvard 'great again' by capping the number of foreign students who can attend the elite university.
The president further accused the university of accepting students who come from radical countries.
Trump has railed against Harvard and other schools for not stopping pro-Palestine protests that popped up in the wake of the Hamas attack on Israel in October.
He has also demanded Harvard eliminate its diversity, equity, and inclusion program; cut the power of its professors; refuse foreign students; and ban masks at campus protests.
Harvard has fought back just as hard, filing a lawsuit last month that seeks the restoration of more than $3 billion in federal funding. Another filed last week asked a federal court to reinstate its right to enroll international students.
Last week a federal judge temporarily reinstated Harvard's right to enroll international students. There will be a hearing on Thursday to determine whether that order should be extended.
And Abdul-Jabbar said Wednesday that Harvard president Garber's 'defiant refusal to succumb to fear' gave him hope that 'there are still people willing to take Dr. King's place.'
The Lakers legend delivered the address at Harvard's Class Day on Wednesday
'After seeing so many cowering billionaires, media moguls, law firms, politicians, and other universities bend their knee to an administration that is systematically strip-mining the US Constitution, it is inspiring to me to see Harvard take a stand for freedom,' he said.
Class Day is an annual celebration ahead of the school's commencement exercises, which will be held Thursday morning.
Abdul-Jabbar, who spent 20 seasons in the NBA with the Milwaukee Bucks and Lakers, joined the likes of former vice president Al Gore and comedian Amy Poehler among the Class Day speaker ranks.
While most famous for his career on the court, which included a record six MVP nods, the Harlem native is also an award-winning author and a former Time magazine, who has written on a wide range of topics, including race, religion, sports and black history.
In 2019, he was awarded the Presidential Medal of Freedom by former president Barack Obama for his social justice work.
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