8 Quotes by Etan Thomas

He talked about not letting people discourage you from your dreams. There will be people always trying to tear you down, that you should ignore them and go after your goals. It was a great message and I listened to every word he said. Teachers and parents may say the same thing, but coming from a professional athlete, well, that was something you really had to take to heart. And I did.

We had enough to eat, but on a schoolteacher's salary, we certainly didn't have all the luxuries. I learned that if you're going to make it, you have to have an education.

Do you really think, had this been a rich, lily-white suburban area, instead of one mostly poor and black, that got hit, the administration would have waited five days to get food or water to those people? When the hurricane hit in Florida, Bush made sure those people got those supplies the next day.

It's not as bad as it could've been.

Not everyone is comfortable with standing up. But I know it does get appreciated.

In a way I'm surprised by that, and in a way I'm not.

I'm having fun out there getting more time. Coach has more confidence in me and it's fun. I'm going to keep banging and keep playing hard.

I feel a necessity to speak out. I want to be the type of athlete that Muhammad Ali was. Dealing straightforward with the issues of the day. There's just too much going on for me to be quiet.