Hall of Famer and basketball legend Kareem Abdul-Jabbar revealed this morning that he has been battling leukemia, a form of cancer that develops in blood tissue. Abdul-Jabbar appeared on CNN’s American Morning and fielded questions about his battle with the disease. During the conversation, CNN co-host Kiran Chetry asked Abdul-Jabbar if he was following the health care debate, prompting the basketball star to offer his endorsement for reform. He explained that he believes that it is a “just and noble cause” to guarantee access to health care to Americans:
CHETRY: I’m sure you’ve been paying attention to the ongoing debate about health care. Have you taken a stand on that? Do you have an opinion on what we need to do as a nation to ensure more people can have access to health care?
ABDUL-JABBAR: I’m all for that. We have the best technology in the world. We’re supposed to be the ‘can-do’ nation. And our health care system really fails so many people. Especially poor people, people who don’t have the means to go to private doctors. I think we should change that. I think it’s absolutely crucial. Certainly it’s a just and noble cause to make health care available to everyone.
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