Kareem Abdul-Jabbar Athlete Quotations

When I was 17, I worked in a mentoring program in Harlem designed to improve the community. That's when I first gained an appreciation of the Harlem Renaissance, a time when African-Americans rose to prominence in American culture. For the first time, they were taken seriously as artists, musicians, writers, athletes, and as political thinkers.

OK, I'll put it like this: I doubt if we will see another All-American basketball athlete who is a Rhodes Scholar.

Jackie Robinson, as an athlete and as someone who was trying to make a stand for equality, he was exemplary.

My biggest accomplishment has been making a transition from athlete to author.

Your best athletes might give basketball a try just when they think, geez, this might be something that pays off for me in the end.

You play with your soul as well as your body.

Kobe's an incredibly talented athlete, and there are many more like him among today's players.

Either because I was an athlete or because I was black - probably both - there seemed to be a clear assumption that I wouldn't be up to the work.