“I did a little bit of research. More whites believe in ghosts than believe in racism,” Abdul-Jabbar said on ABC’s “This Week.” “That’s why we have shows like Ghostbusters and don’t have shows like Racistbuster. You know, it’s something that’s still part of our culture and people hold on to some of these ideas and practices just out of habit and saying that, well, that’s the way it always was. But things have to change.”
Host George Stephanopoulos asked Abdul-Jabbar about his time working with Sterling as a Clippers coach in 2000. Abdul-Jabbar said he had no inkling at the time that Sterling might be a racist.
“I didn’t see a racist then,” Abdul-Jabbar said. “Mr. Sterling for the most part was gracious. [He] invited me to his daughter’s wedding. I didn’t feel that there was any racial animus in the man. But when I saw what was just portrayed there, you know, how he discriminated against blacks and other minorities, it started to bother me.”