NBA legend Kareem Abdul-Jabbar is one of many big names from the world of sports to speak out following the death of George Floyd in Minneapolis last week.

Abdul-Jabbar joined ESPN’s Scott Van Pelt on SportsCenter to share his thoughts on Floyd’s murder, putting an end to institutionalized racism and the protests occurring over the last few days across the United States.

“I think this is a moment that everybody can point to that an awakening took place. I hope people are now awake to how horrible institutionalized racism is and that it’s a problem that needs to be fixed now, somehow. And we have to start talking about it now. This is urgent. This is not something that we can keep putting off,” he said.

“I feel like I’m caught between hope and history. The hope is that the United States will live up to its ideals and overcome its history of very poor racial attitudes that end up in violence against black Americans. So, you know, I hope that we will deal with the better aspects of who we are as Americans, but history makes it very tough to have a positive outcome it seems. It just can’t seem to get past a certain point and that is very troubling.”

Abdul-Jabbar penned an op-ed in the Los Angeles Times​ over the weekend where he reacted to the protests and described how people in the black community feel like they are being pushed to the edge. He reiterated that feeling Monday night.

“The fact that people are acknowledging what has been going on for 400 years. Black lives have not been of value and we’ve got to change that. Certain police institutions have to change their attitude and their culture and deal with people in a way that deescalates tension and the things that cause violence and we have to learn how to deescalate these situations and enforce the law the way it should be enforced.”

He also commended athletes who have used their platform to speak up over issues in the past and in the wake of Floyd’s death.

“Athletes have been a beacon for young people in the black community. And to see athletes like Jalen [Rose] responding in this way is really wonderful and I’m so happy to see another generation of athletes understand what has to be done and what has to be said. Here’s an example that people should try on: There’s been a lot of talk about how horrible the rioting and looting is, that is no way to demonstrate. But people should think about the fact that Colin Kaepernick tried to demonstrate peacefully. What did he get? He got ostracized, he lost his job, he was blackballed. That was a peaceful protest about an issue that is very real and no one could acknowledge that. We’ve got to get to the point where we take these people seriously and acknowledge the wrongs that they are trying to identify and right them. That’s the way that we make progress.”