Kareem Abdul-Jabbar on LiAngelo Ball's antics at UCLA: 'It stained part of my legacy'
The wave of criticism that has swept over the Ball family since Lonzo Ball set foot on UCLA’s campus last season as a freshman has been vast and well-documented.
But perhaps none of it has been as sharp or as prominent as from UCLA legend Kareem Abdul-Jabbar, who recently ripped into LiAngelo Ball, the younger brother of Lonzo and freshman guard for the Bruins who was arrested and released on shoplifting charges during a team trip to China.
“It stained part of my legacy. I was offended by it,” Abdul-Jabbar said on “The Herd with Colin Cowherd” on Wednesday. “I didn’t like seeing the program associated with shoplifting.”
"It stained part of my legacy." — @kaj33 reflects on the UCLA players' trip to China and shoplifting arrest pic.twitter.com/TVJ6I0y9rg
— Herd w/Colin Cowherd (@TheHerd) November 22, 2017
While Abdul-Jabbar balked at Cowherd’s suggestion that Ball and his teammates who were involved in the shoplifting scandal be kicked off the team, he didn’t mince words on his feelings about LiAngelo.
“I’d like to see some character,” he said. “One of the Ball kids has been driving a Ferrari to UCLA. This is disgusting. It sets a bad precedent for what the school is supposed to be about.”
The entire clip is a worthwhile watch, as Abdul-Jabbar also touches on his time at UCLA and admitted to taking funds from program supporter Sam Gilbert, whom he said scalped his basketball tickets so Abdul-Jabbar could have some money “to take my girlfriend out.” He wouldn’t deny or confirm that John Wooden knew anything about Gilbert’s actions.
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