Kareem Abdul-Jabbar Undergoing Surgery for Broken Hip

Christy Piña
·1 min read
  • Oops!
    Something went wrong.
    Please try again later.

Kareem Abdul-Jabbar has been hospitalized after a fall and is set to undergo surgery for a broken hip.

Abdul-Jabbar’s longtime business partner, Deborah Morales, shared the news on the NBA Hall of Famer’s official Twitter account.

More from The Hollywood Reporter

“Last night while attending a concert, Kareem had an accidental fall and broke his hip,” Morales wrote. “He will have surgery today. We are all deeply appreciative of all the support for Kareem, especially from the Los Angeles Fire Department who assisted Kareem on site, and the amazing medical team and doctors at UCLA Hospital who are taking great care of Kareem now.”

After becoming an NBA legend, Abdul-Jabbar went on to pen several books. He eventually became a longtime columnist for The Hollywood Reporter, wrote for several other publications and even had a stint as a writer on Veronica Mars, before launching his own substack.

His broken hip follows a string of health issues the basketball star has had, including prostate cancer, leukemia and heart bypass surgery. Abdul-Jabbar wrote an essay about his health struggles for WebMD, in which he called for better healthcare for Black Americans.

In the piece, he stressed that he’s been more fortunate than most people because he had the financial security to receive the medical attention needed to cure each of the illnesses he’s faced over the years.

“But while I’m grateful for my advantages, I’m acutely aware that many others in the Black community do not have the same options and that it is my responsibility to join with those fighting to change that,” he wrote. “Because Black lives are at risk. Serious risk.”

Best of The Hollywood Reporter