Why aren’t we as outraged by cheating as the Aussies?

Kareem Abdul-Jabbar presented all sorts of conundrums for opponents, writes Brendan O’Brien

Standing 7’ 2”, the man rated by ESPN a decade ago as the second-greatest basketball player of all time held all sorts of NBA records after 20 years in the league. Leading points scorer. Most blocked shots. Most defensive rebounds. Most personal fouls. That last one is especially interesting here.

Johnny Kerr, a former player, coach and colour commentator, once suggested that the best way to counter the multi-dimensional threat that was Abdul-Jabbar was to get in as close as possible to him and breathe on his goggles. The great man himself seemed to understand that this sort of malarkey is just the way of things in sports.