Kareem, Magic speak out on George Floyd death, protests
Laker greats Kareem Abdul-Jabbar and Magic Johnson are offering their thoughts on the nationwide protests over the death of George Floyd.
LOS ANGELES (KABC) -- Many athletes are speaking out about the death of George Floyd and the subsequent protests across the nation.
Recently, retired Laker greats Kareem Abdul-Jabbar and Magic Johnson offered their take on the events.
"I feel like I'm caught between hope and history," Abdul-Jabbar told ESPN. "The hope is that the United States will live up to its ideals, and overcome its history of very poor racial attitudes that end up in violence against black Americans."
"I hope that we will deal with the better aspects of who we are as Americans. But history makes it very tough to have a positive outcome it seems. We just can't seem to get past a certain point and that is very troubling."
In a separate interview, Earvin "Magic" Johnson also offered his thoughts on the protests over police brutality and racial inequality being held across the country. He called for people to also channel their political activism toward voting in November.
Magic Johnson speaks out on protests
"These young people of all races, not just black people are out there, all race of people are out there and they're showing their power and they're letting their voice be heard," Johnson said during an interview.
However, he said their activism should not stop there.
"Now they have to do the same thing in November when the election comes around."
