The Gist

The Scholarly Kareem Abdul-Jabbar

The NBA great sees #BlackLivesMatter as a continuation of the civil rights era that shaped his youth.

Kareem Abdul-Jabbar in attendance during a Los Angeles Lakers win over the Boston Celtics at Staples Center on Tuesday in Los Angeles.

Harry How/Getty Images

Listen to Episode 918 of Slate’s The Gist:

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On The Gist, get your clutching pearls ready. Russia alleges that the U.S. is trying to interfere in its election.

Kareem Abdul-Jabbar has been politically precocious since well before his own sports scholarship at UCLA. His latest column for the Guardian argues it’s “time to pay the tab for America’s college athletes.” He says student players should unionize.

In the Spiel, the tactics that responsible Republicans use to communicate their potential opposition: They speak in their home-state argot.

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Twitter: @slategist