Editor's note: Richard Lapchick is a human rights activist, pioneer for racial equality, expert on sports issues, scholar and author.
So much attention is rightly being paid to Los Angeles Lakers star LeBron James for being on the verge of breaking one of the most iconic records in sports: Lakers legend Kareem Abdul-Jabbar's all-time NBA scoring mark of 38,387 points. It is a monumental achievement we likely will see this week by James.
I have been friends with Kareem for more than six decades and had hoped that his record would remain intact, and it certainly looked as if it would.