“$200 Million Paid by Taxpayers for a Wall That Didn’t Do Anything”: 75-Year-Old Lakers Legend Kareem Abdul-Jabbar Enraged Over “Politics at Its Worst”

A huge decision to build a 10-mile-long border wall from old shipping containers across the US-Mexico border in Arizona by former Governor Doug Ducey has attracted a lot of flak from different sections. Local residents and environmental advocates soon protested Ducey’s decision by occupying the construction site in December. As a result, the work had to be halted during the final month of the former governor’s tenure. The widespread protests prompted Ducey to remove the rusty containers from the Arizona-Mexico border in a supposed attempt to avoid lawsuits. Recently, Los Angeles Lakers legend Kareem Abdul-Jabbar relayed his strong take on the former Arizona Governor’s actions by deeming the situation as ‘politics at its worst’.

The move from former governor Ducey is believed to have plenty of negative effects locally. These barriers were built across the lands near Yuma in the West and Vista in the Southeast section of Arizona. Moreover, many critics have claimed that the border project led by Ducey was illegal. It was also revealed that the makeshift border was reportedly built on tribal and federal land. Kareem-Abdul Jabbar recently detailed the ramifications of the entire fiasco, including the financial waste associated with it.

Kareem Abdul-Jabbar condemns Ducey’s decision

In a recent update on Kareem Substack, Kareem Abdul-Jabbar questioned the financial repercussions of Ducey’s decision on the state of Arizona. Moreover, the six-time NBA champ also deemed the former Arizona governor’s decision to be an attempt ‘to remain politically relevant after leaving office’.

Kareem pointed out that the Center for Biological diversity had also filed lawsuits against AshBritt and Ducey. AshBritt was the company that installed the makeshift wall and is tasked to remove it. Environmental organizations have cited the Clean Water Act and the Endangered Species Act to support their lawsuit, as per the Lakers legend

Kareem Abdul-Jabbar further stated, “Ashbritt, the company that installed the wall for $123.6 million, is also being paid $76.5 million to remove it. That’s $200 million paid by taxpayers for a wall that didn’t do anything (certainly not keep out immigrants) but promote the man who wanted to fluff his own career at the expense of all the good that amount of money could have done for Arizonians.”

The 19-time All-Star believed that the decision from Ducey to make the makeshift wall was a failure. Kareem argued that the whole move has wasted a boatload of taxpayer dollars, now that the barriers are being removed again.

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The Lakers icon also claimed that Doug Ducey’s move was an attempt to stay relevant after the end of his tenure as Governor, at the expense of the Arizona residents.

Kareem deems Ducey’s decision to be the worst

Kareem Abdul-Jabbar was not too impressed by Ducey’s decision to make a wall made of old-shipping containers. Many spoke about the environmental consequences of the decision. However, the Lakers legend deemed it to be one of the worst political decisions in recent times. The NBA Hall of Famer stated, “Politics at its worst by a politician who is the worst.”

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Abdul-Jabbar contrasted the actions of Ducey with the new Arizona Attorney General Kris Mayes, who is working diligently to boost voting rights.