Kareem Abdul-Jabbar

Abdul-Jabbar's personal life remained unsettled during and after his Los Angeles playing years. He was always uncomfortable with reporters, describing them as "scurrying around like cockroaches after crumbs." Fans, especially white, found it difficult to understand his conversion to Islam; his attitudes towards race; and his shy, introverted personality. Abdul-Jabbar's Islamic faith also estranged him from his parents, although they eventually reconciled.

Source: "Kareem Abdul-Jabbar." St. James Encyclopedia of Popular Culture. 5 vols. St. James Press, 2000.