Sports
Ali Siddiq Says Abdul Rauf Was Blackballed After National Anthem Protest
Flagrant
Knicks WIN + Ali Siddiq's Best Prison Stories
What was said
"This guy was basically like Steph before Steph. Lights-out shooter. He didn't wanna stand for it. They blackballed him. If you was Muslim and you were in the NBA at this time, you were getting shunned. They leave out Hakeem all the time, which is insane."
Siddiq discussed how NBA player Mahmoud Abdul-Rauf was effectively removed from professional basketball after refusing to stand for the national anthem in the 1990s, decades before Colin Kaepernick's similar protest. He argued Muslim players faced systematic discrimination during that era, pointing to how even elite players like Hakeem Olajuwon are often excluded from all-time great conversations despite championship pedigrees.
Verification status
Attributed speaker claim
Egleze verified who said this and where. The underlying claim has not been independently established by Egleze.
Source and context
Egleze verified who said this and where. The underlying claim has not been independently established by Egleze.
- Programme
- Flagrant
- Episode
- Knicks WIN + Ali Siddiq's Best Prison Stories
- Clip time
- 28:11
- Original source
- Watch the source segment →
From this episode
Flagrant