Kareem Abdul-Jabbar worries fans with wheelchair appearance at Jackie Robinson Day

Kareem Abdul-Jabbar amazed immoderate fans by appearing astatine a Jackie Robinson Day tribute astatine Dodger Stadium successful a wheelchair.

The NBA’s 2nd all-time starring scorer was shown arriving astatine nan statue honoring Robinson being pushed successful a bluish wheelchair earlier getting up and posing for photos.

A blonde female wearing a beige overgarment rushed complete to thief dependable nan 78-year-old arsenic he sewage retired of nan chair.

The Lakers fable had successful hep room conscionable 15 months agone aft falling astatine a concert.

“One of nan goats… dislike seeing nan bigfella who played into his 40s being fragile,” one instrumentality commented.

“Poor Kareem. Dude is specified a legend,” another wrote pinch a crying emoji.

Standing astatine 7-foot-2, Abdul-Jabbar attended UCLA 25 years aft Robinson did, and nan 2 had a narration earlier Robinson died successful 1972.

“People who were willing successful that knew that 1 important facet of segregation had conscionable been eliminated, and Black Americans were proud of it,” Abdul-Jabbar said via MLB.com. “My mom didn’t cognize overmuch astir nan game. But because of each nan attraction that Jackie got, we started listening to nan games connected nan power erstwhile I was astir 2 years old. And it was very important to maine that Jackie’s squad won.”

Abdul-Jabbar recounted a communicative during Robinson’s subject clip where he refused to move to nan backmost of a bus, resulting successful a court-martial and eventual acquittal.

After leaving nan military, nan Lakers fable said that Robinson “started getting fresh to do what he had to do connected nan section for kids for illustration me.”

Abdul-Jabbar, who grew up a Brooklyn Dodgers instrumentality successful NYC, made his master hoops debut successful 1969 while a personnel of nan Milwaukee Bucks earlier forcing a waste and acquisition to nan Lakers successful 1975.

In his post-NBA career, Abdul-Jabbar has spent his clip successful nan arts, writing connected Substack, while besides moving arsenic a Hollywood Reporter columnist.