Kareem Abdul-Jabbar Foolishly Rushes To Don Lemon's Defense After Sexist Comments

Kareem Abdul-Jabbar decided to be Don Lemon's hero and rushed to his defense after some unhinged comments about women.

The CNN host has been taking fire from all sides after a bizarre Thursday segment where he declared women are in their primes in their 20s, 30s and 40s while talking about Republican presidential candidate Nicki Haley. Amid his co-hosts being clearly confused/uncomfortable, Lemon declared people should just Google it.

Lemon was absolutely torched following his comments, and justifiably so. After all, his comments weren't just blatantly sexist and disgusting, but nakedly partisan. Has Lemon ever once claimed Kamala Harris or Hillary Clinton were out of their primes due to their age?

Of course not. His brain just doesn't function at a seemingly a normal level. Plus, if a host anywhere else said what he said, they'd be out of a job.

Yet, for reasons unknown, the former NBA star decided to step in front of Lemon and take some arrows for him.

"Don - we know your heart was in the right place. I think you were referencing women being in their prime during their 'reproductive years,'" Kareem tweeted in part in response to Lemon's apology.

Despite Don Lemon not saying anything about reproductive years - a lifeline Poppy Harlow even offered him - Kareem decided to just make that up and roll with it.

We all know the former NBA star knows damn well that's almost certainly not what Lemon meant. Yet, he chose to defend a man who 100% deserves the criticism coming his way.

Don Lemon seems too stupid for TV.

At this point, it's almost like CNN is playing a game. How much more dumb stuff can Don Lemon say before he finally gets fired? It's like a game of Russian roulette on TV every morning over at CNN.

His behavior behind the scenes is reportedly appalling, and things allegedly escalated Thursday thanks to this segment.

Poppy Harlow reportedly left the set in a less than stellar mood thanks to Lemon's unhinged and openly sexist comments, according to the New York Post. It's just the latest example of the CNN host allegedly causing massive problems with his co-hosts.

Yet, he's protected. Why is that? Why is Don Lemon allowed to behave in a fashion that wouldn't be tolerated for anyone else? As OutKick's Bobby Burack pointed out, firing a gay black man in 2023 isn't great for your optics.

To be clear, we're against cancel culture here at OutKick. It's not our thing and shouldn't be yours either. However, being against cancel culture doesn't mean you're blind to obvious double standards.

Don Lemon's clown show behavior continues to be a blemish on CNN, which is attempting to turn the ship around. Whether it's his alleged behavior off camera or just insane behavior on it, the man just can't stop. At what point does CNN finally say enough is enough?

Written by
David Hookstead is a reporter for OutKick covering a variety of topics with a focus on football and culture. He also hosts of the podcast American Joyride that is accessible on Outkick where he interviews American heroes and outlines their unique stories. Before joining OutKick, Hookstead worked for the Daily Caller for seven years covering similar topics. Hookstead is a graduate of the University of Wisconsin.