Abdul-Karim al-Jabbar

Infobox NFLretired


|width=
caption=
position=Running back
number=27, 33
birthdate=birth date and age|1974|6|28
Los Angeles, California
deathdate=
debutyear=1996
finalyear=2000
draftyear=1996
draftround=3
draftpick=80
college=UCLA
teams=
* Miami Dolphins (1996-1999)
* Cleveland Browns (1999)
* Indianapolis Colts (2000)
stat1label=Rushing yards
stat1value=3,411
stat2label=Average
stat2value=3.4
stat3label=Touchdowns
stat3value=33
nfl=ALJ059326
highlights=
* Led NFL in Rushing Touchdowns in 1997 with 15
HOF=
CollegeHOF=

Abdul-Karim al-Jabbar, formerly known as Sharmon Shah and famously Karim Abdul-Jabbar (born June 28 1974, in Los Angeles, California), is a former professional NFL football player who played from 1996 to 2000 with the Miami Dolphins, Cleveland Browns and Indianapolis Colts. He was born Sharmon Shah and was a 5'11" running back. His career was more known for a controversy over his name than for his on-field performances.

College

He played for the UCLA Bruins from 1992 to 1995 under head coach Terry Donahue. He set the school record for rushing yards in a season and was named team MVP in consecutive years under the names 'Sharmon Shah' in 1994 and 'Karim Abdul-Jabbar' in 1995. He was a three-year letterman and two-year starter at UCLA. Despite leaving school with one season of eligibility remaining, he ranks third on the Bruins' all-time rushing list with 3,030 yards on 582 carries (5.2 avg.) with 16 touchdowns. He also added 36 receptions for 306 yards with one touchdown. Karim averaged 110.1 total yards per game in college and was the only player in school history (and seventh in Pac 10 annals) to rush for over 1,200 yards

Professional athletics

Al-Jabbar was drafted in the third round of the 1996 NFL Draft by the Miami Dolphins, with whom he would play three and a half seasons. In his rookie year, he set many of the Dolphins' rookie records for rushing by a running back. He became only the second Dolphin to lead the team in rushing in each of his first two seasons in the league. In 1997, he led the NFL in total touchdowns with 16 and tied Denver Broncos running back Terrell Davis for the league lead with 15 rushing TDs. Afterwards his productivity decreased. In 1999, the Dolphins traded him to the Cleveland Browns for a third round draft pick in the 2000 NFL Draft; while he did put up some decent numbers, it was not enough to earn himself a contract extension. [http://sports.espn.go.com/espn/print?id=2574291&type=story] .

NFL statistics

* Jersey Number - 33 (Dolphins, Colts) and 27 (Browns)
*Games Played - 60
*Rushing Yards (career): 3,063
*Most Rushing Yards (season): 1,116 (1996)
*Rushing Attempts (career): 888
*Most Rushing Attempts (season):307 (1996) and 283 (1997)
*Most Rushing Attempts (game): 33 (9/20/98 vs. Pittsburgh)
*Rushing Touchdowns (career): 33
*Most Rushing Touchdowns (season): 15 (1997) and 11 (1996)
*Most Rushing Touchdowns (game): 3 (10/19/97 at Baltimore), 5,5,6 and 3 (11/23/97 at New England)
*Most Consecutive Games with Rushing Touchdowns: 5 (10th through 14th in 1997)
*100 Yard Games (career): 9
*Most 100 Yard Games (season): 4 (1996)

Name controversy

In 1995, the Muslim Sharmon Shah was given the name "Karim Abdul-Jabbar" by his Imam. The new name he was given quickly garnered major attention upon his NFL debut. Some commentators mistakenly believed that he was the son of former basketball great, Kareem Abdul-Jabbar. He also wore number 33, the same number that Kareem Abdul-Jabbar had made famous.

In 1998, Kareem Abdul-Jabbar filed a lawsuit against Karim, stating that there were too many similarities between the two. In the lawsuit, Abdul-Jabbar listed that they both attended UCLA and both wore the number 33. Kareem felt that Karim was making profits and sponging off the name and number he made famous in the 1970s. He won a court order that required Karim to drop the "Abdul-Jabbar" name off his jersey. In addition, all Dolphins jerseys with the "Abdul-Jabbar" name and number 33 were immediately pulled from the shelves and merchandising catalogs. Karim complied and had his name changed to simply 'Abdul'. Karim disputes that he used it NOT because of Kareem, but because of former Dallas Cowboys running back Tony Dorsett that he chose the number 33 as his uniform number. After the lawsuit, he changed his name to Abdul-Karim al-Jabbar in 2000. [http://www.findarticles.com/p/articles/mi_m1355/is_n2_v93/ai_20048711] .

External links

* [http://www.pro-football-reference.com/players/AbduKa00.htm Karim's career statistics]
* [http://www.findarticles.com/p/articles/mi_m1355/is_n2_v93/ai_20048711 The Kareem Abdul-Jabbar vs Karim Abdul-Jabbar lawsuit]
* [http://www.findarticles.com/p/articles/mi_qn4196/is_19980430/ai_n10425965 The final verdict in the Kareem vs Karim lawsuit]