Count Kareem Abdul-Jabbar on the side of The Chosen One in the Michael Jordan-LeBron James debate, but his choice has nothing to do with basketball.
The NBA's all-time leading scorer called Jordan a sellout in an interview with National Public Radio, the audio of which was posted on Fox Sports.
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The NPR interviewer asked Abdul-Jabbar, who has been noted for his outspoken views throughout his professional career, about Jordan's infamous quote about "Republican buy sneakers, too."
"You can't be afraid of losing shoe sales if you're worried about your civil and human rights," Abdul-Jabbar said in response to Jordan's comments made some 25 years ago. "He took commerce over conscience. It's unfortunate for him, but he's gotta live with it."
In 1990, organizers for the campaign of Harvey Gantt, a black Democrat trying to unseat Republican Sen. Jesse Helms, asked for Jordan's support that drew his response.
Abdul-Jabbar was much more complimentary of James for wearing an "I Can't Breathe" T-shirt during warmups before a Dec. 2014 game in support of Eric Garner, who said those words before he died after a police officer choked him to death during a confrontation earlier that summer.
Most of Abdul-Jabbar's basketball career was met with skepticism by the media because of his stance on controversial issues, which he touches on in the NPR interview.
Former Jordan teammate Ron Harper, however, said Abdul-Jabbar has Jordan figured all wrong, according to TMZ Sports.
Jordan is a "very conscientious kind of guy," Harper told TMZ. "He may not come out and tell the world [what his values are] ... but he's one of the smartest guys I've ever been around.
"Some of the stuff he do may not get on TV on camera like some other athletes like to portray themselves as, conscientious Americans, but my boy MJ ... he knows what he's doing in life. Michael Jordan is caring."
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