cannabisnews.com: Abdul-Jabbar Disappointed in Magic Johnson 





Abdul-Jabbar Disappointed in Magic Johnson 
Posted by FoM on February 07, 2000 at 18:22:25 PT
By Marv Schneider, AP Sports Writer 
Source: Los Angeles Times
Kareem Abdul-Jabbar felt betrayed when Magic Johnson made a joke about him using marijuana for medicinal purposes."I would have expected more from a guy I played with," Abdul-Jabbar said Monday. "Some compassion, some understanding. Instead, he tried to get a laugh at my expense." 
Johnson's remarks were made on his short-lived TV show "The Magic Hour." Abdul-Jabbar expressed his disappointment in "A Season On The Reservation," a book he wrote about his five months coaching an Apache high school basketball team in Arizona. "I had shown support for Magic when he tested positive for HIV and I had expected more from a former teammate," Abdul-Jabbar wrote in the book. Abdul-Jabbar, speaking at a book-signing session at the NBA Store, said he has a prescription from the state of California to legally use marijuana because of the migraine headaches that have troubled him for years. "I use it to control the nausea which comes with the headaches," he said Abdul-Jabbar said Johnson's remarks hurt him because he is aware he remains a role model even eight years after he retired as the NBA's career scoring leader. "It's a responsibility that comes with your success and you have to deal with," he said. As for those athletes who shirk that responsibility and run afoul of the law, Abdul-Jabbar said the trouble stems from their upbringing. "Somebody in their childhood goofed," he said. "Maybe it was their parents, maybe it was their schools or their church, but somebody in their youth failed them. That's when moral development begins." As far as criticizing the NBA or the NFL for its problem players, Abdul-Jabbar said, "(The leagues) belong last on the list when it comes to handing out blame." Abdul-Jabbar worked with basketball players on the White Mountain Apache Reservation in 1998. He was motivated by a TV appearance by Colin Powell in which the retired general talked about volunteerism. And it paid off not only for the youngsters he coached but also for Abdul-Jabbar. He had become disillusioned with basketball and his students rekindled his interest in the game. "I didn't realize that my time would have as much to do with teaching the kids about the game of life as about the sport of basketball," Abdul-Jabbar wrote. "And I had come here as much a student as instructor." New York (AP) Published: February 7, 2000Copyright 2000 Los Angeles Times and Total Sports Inc.Related Articles: N.B.A. Finds Minimal Use of Marijuana in First Test http://www.cannabisnews.com/news/thread4623.shtmlCannabisNews Search - N.B.A. Articles:http://www.alltheweb.com/cgi-bin/asearch?type=all&query=cannabisnews+NBA 
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