Abdul-Jabbar, who won five NBA championships with the 1980s Los Angeles Lakers, made it clear in his text introduction that his adverse reaction to the series had nothing to do with the way the actor Solomon Hughes interprets it, or with it being “persistent” with the historical precisions within the dramatic interpretations. Abdul-Jabbar noted that he wasn’t originally going to watch the series after living it, but after hearing rumors about how some of his former colleagues were treated, he had to watch it for himself.
“There is only one unchangeable sin in writing: Don’t be boring! ‘Time to Win’ commits that sin over and over again,” Abdul-Jabbar wrote, specifically targeting the executive producer. Adam McKay. “I’ll start with the soft characterization. The characters are crude representations of figures that resemble real people, in the same way that Lego Han Solo resembles Harrison Ford. Each character is boiled down to a single bold trait, as if the writers feared something more complex would test viewers’ comprehension.”
Like others who know jerry west (interpreted by Jason Clarke), Abdul-Jabbar took issue with how the former Lakers head coach is portrayed in the HBO series.
“It is a disgrace the way they treat Jerry West who has been outspoken about his struggles with mental health, especially depression,” Abdul-Jabbar wrote. “Instead of exploring his problems with compassion for him as a way to better understand the man, they turn him into a Wile E. Coyote caricature to make him laugh. He never broke golf clubs, he never threw his trophy out the window. Sure, those actions create dramatic moments, but they reek of easy man-man exploitation more than character exploration.”
Stating again that the portrayal of himself in the series “had no effect on me personally”, Abdul-Jabbar addressed a moment that deeply upset him as it could have a lasting effect on his charity, the Skyhook Foundation.
The scene occurs early in the series, when Hughes’s Kareem is working on the classic comedy aircraft. There the character played by Hughes tells a child actor to “fuck off” when the child asks for an autograph after the scene. The real Abdul-Jabbar seriously disagreed with the timing.
“I never said ‘fuck you’ to the child actor (ross harris) in Airplane!, nor have I ever said that to any child, ”wrote the former player. “I realize this was a shorthand way of showing my seeming aloofness during that time, though I have often spoken of my intense, almost debilitating shyness. The filmmakers had access to that information, but truth and insight were not on their agenda. Those were shocking moments.”
Abdul-Jabbar continued: “There is a victim here, it’s just not me. My charity, the Skyhook Foundation, offers week-long retreats for inner-city schoolchildren to study science while staying in the national forest. For years, I have been visiting schools to promote STEM education. But when people watch this show and are left with the impression that I am verbally abusive to children, they are less likely to support my foundation. That means fewer children will be able to participate in the program. So Adam McKay is giving those kids a big ‘fuck you!’ that lasts much longer than the easy laugh he got from a dishonest joke.”
“Lakers: Time to Win” premieres new episodes every Sunday on HBO and HBO Max.
Source: Ambito
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