Kareem Abdul-Jabbar Donates Goggles to Scripps Caregivers Fighting COVID-19

On Monday, April 6, NBA legend Kareem Abdul-Jabbar visited Scripps Health in San Diego to donate 900 pairs of safety goggles to protect health care professionals on the front lines of fighting the COVID-19 pandemic.

Kareem regularly wore goggles on his way to becoming the NBA’s all-time leading scorer – so it’s fitting that he’s donating them in what may be one of his biggest assists yet off the court.

He said he wants to thank all of the doctors, nurses and medical professionals for all they’re doing to help fight the coronavirus. Kareem good-naturedly added that he hopes health care providers look as good wearing the goggles as he did when he played.

Kareem was motivated to give back after learning about the need for more medical equipment from his longtime lawyer Steven Anapoell, whose brother Dr. William Anapoell practices at Scripps. Kareem’s longtime friend and manager for the last 25 years, Deborah Morales, is leveraging his name, image and likeness globally to help locate and secure other much-needed, high-quality medical supplies for Scripps and other hospitals in Southern California.

Greeting Kareem on April 6 were Scripps President and CEO Chris Van Gorder, Scripps Chief Medical Officer, Clinical Excellence and Experience Dr. Ghazala Sharieff, Dr. Anapoell, and other members of the Scripps team.

Scripps Health is a nonprofit health care delivery system that operates five hospitals and 28 outpatient centers in San Diego County.