Kareem Abdul-Jabbar writes about his accidental fall, the concert he had to leave and thanks doctors
Kareem Abdul-Jabbar took to Substack to talk about his recent accident where he fell and broke his hip, and with humor and positivity he wrote about aging, praised his medical team and said he's taking some time to recover.
In a Dec.18 post titled "Me, The Manhattan Transfer, and My Broken Hip," he wrote not only about what happened, but also the music group whose concert he was at when he had the accidental fall.
The NBA legend broke his hip Dec. 15 at The Manhattan Transfer concert, at Disney Hall, as he was prepared to read a letter from Kamala Harris, praising one of his favorite bands.
"I'd like to say I fell while trying to save a child from plunging over a balcony, but I just tripped," Abdul-Jabbar wrote.
"Hard for me to accept that a once world-class athlete just stumbled. But age is the great equalizer and humbles us all."
When information was released about Abdul-Jabbar's startling accident, the morning after it happened, there weren't a lot of details. It was only known that the 76-year-old suffered a shattered hip from an accidental fall while attending a concert.
Abdul-Jabbar's longtime business partner, Deborah Morales communicated through X the following day that he would undergo surgery at UCLA Hospital. She thanked the Los Angeles Fire Department who assisted Abdul-Jabbar on site and she thanked the doctors and medical team at the hospital.
Abdul-Jabbar continued to say he will be taking a week or so off over the holidays to recuperate and spend time with family.
"Now, I'm a world-class patient in a bed convalescing from a hip replacement like 450,000 other Americans every year," Abdul-Jabbar wrote.
In his post, Abdul-Jabbar also shared the Vice President's letter that he never got a chance to read, which praised The Manhattan Transfer as they celebrated the group's 50th anniversary with their final show, Dec. 15.
"The Manhattan Transfer first took the stage in 1969, the same year I first took the NBA court. I've been listening to their unique blend of R&B, jazz, blues, and pop ever since," Abdul-Jabbar wrote.
