Sports legend and political activist Kareem Abdul-Jabbar returned to Milwaukee Friday to launch his new book 'Becoming Kareem.'
The Milwaukee Bucks great headlined a show at the Marcus Center for the Performing Arts.
His new book explores how he became the man he is today and the people and places that helped him get there. He said he chose Milwaukee for the launch because he believed there would be a good chance the audience would have an open mind.
Before the show, he offered comments on some of the social activism playing out in the national spotlight, like Nike's decision to feature Colin Kaepernick in its newest ad campaign.
"I really want to commend Nike for supporting Colin," said Abdul-Jabbar. "What Colin is about is being a patriot in terms of trying to make America stand up for what it's supposed to stand up for."
The 30th anniversary of the "Just Do It" campaign features a voice-over by Kaepernick and he appears in the two-minute ad. This comes after his decision to kneel during the national anthem in protest.
"Colin is not unpatriotic in what he's doing," said Abdul-Jabbar. "And I'm glad Nike chose to support him in the way they have."
Abdul-Jabbar also spoke about Bucks player Sterling Brown and the incident involving Milwaukee Police in January when officers tased Brown.
"It happens to black Americans too often and there's a basic disconnect between the two entities and it makes for unfortunate incidents like that, especially the ones where people get hurt," said Abdul-Jabbar. "We gotta do something about that. Have a better form of communication, the police should not see the black community as us versus them."
He also said fans are really going to enjoy Fiserv Forum this season for games. He had a chance to tour the new arena and said every seat in the building has a good view.
