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Saturday, August 4, 2012

Olympic emphasis has shifted

In the summer of 1968, practical considerations kept star at home
By Kareem Abdul-Jabbar | ESPN.com

In 1968 the Olympics were more political and less lucrative.

I was invited to try out for the team 44 years ago, but instead I chose to keep a job I had with the New York City Housing Authority. I taught basketball at clinics around the city that summer and tried to sell kids on the idea of staying in school. Some people suggested I was making a statement by not going to Mexico City, but the money I made and saved was crucial to providing financial security for me during my senior year at UCLA.

Read the rest of this wide-ranging opinion piece on ESPN.com.