“I have been coaching recently. I coached high school basketball in Arizona, and I hope that more opportunities become available.”
Hope
“Jackie Robinson, as an athlete and as someone who was trying to make a stand for equality, he was exemplary.”
EqualityAll Quotes by Kareem Abdul-Jabbar
“Black people don't have an accurate idea of their history, which has been either suppressed or distorted.”
History“I was getting hot flashes and sweats on a regular basis. That's not normal, even for my age.”
Age“In athletics there's always been a willingness to cheat if it looks like you're not cheating. I think that's just a quirk of human nature.”
Nature“I want to do as little as possible when I finish playing ball - just spend a lot more time with my family.”
Family“I think that the good and the great are only separated by the willingness to sacrifice.”
Great“The '80s made up for all the abuse I took during the '70s. I outlived all my critics. By the time I retired, everybody saw me as a venerable institution. Things do change.”
Change“I have to say I have an incredible musical education because of my father.”
Education“My grandfather and my uncle both died from colorectal cancer, my dad almost died from it and I have the gene for it.”
Dad“I tell kids to pursue their basketball dreams, but I tell them to not let that be their only dream.”
Dreams“I would suggest that teachers show their students concrete examples of the negative effects of the actions that gangsta rappers glorify.”
Teacher“If not for the success that medicine has made, I might be part of a much different story right now.”
Success“In a typical history book, black Americans are mentioned in the context of slavery or civil rights. There's so much more to the story.”
History“My mother had to send me to the movies with my birth certificate, so that I wouldn't have to pay the extra fifty cents that the adults had to pay.”
Movies“I didn't really seek attention. I just wanted to play the game well and go home.”
Home“This is what I would have done if I had to have a real job: I would have been a history teacher.”
History“Sports and entertainment are the only places where inner-city kids see themselves being able to succeed. Their intellectual development is something they don't relate to.”
Sports“I am highly offended by the total lack of acknowledgement of my contribution to Laker success.”
Success“Jackie Robinson, as an athlete and as someone who was trying to make a stand for equality, he was exemplary.”
Equality“I did a book in 1996, an overview of black history. In that process I became more aware of a lot of the black inventors of the 19th century.”
History