A Quote by Anne Donovan
My parents thought I was crazy. When I graduated, you didn't hear of basketball players going to Japan. Everyone went to Europe somewhere.
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A lot of players were going to Europe, but there were always stories of teams not being able to pay, and the players and girls were stuck with no money for airfare to come home. So I got a nice contract from Japan and decided to play there.
Everyone thought I was going to die like a year later, they didn't know. So I helped educate sports, and then the world, that a man living with HIV can play basketball. He's not going to give it to anybody by playing basketball.
Basketball Without Borders is a leadership camp that takes basketball to different places around the world, to Africa, Europe, America and Asia. It's a camp that brings players from different parts of the continent to one city that's been assigned as the host city. We've been going to a different city every year.
We have a long history with Japan. When South Korea play against Japan, the fans tell us that if we lose, they are going to throw the players into the sea.
Initially, he worried that he might be going crazy. But then he decided if you felt you were crazy you weren't really crazy because he had heard somewhere that crazy people didn't know they were insane.
For us, as hoopers and as basketball players, doesn't matter the scenario, the scene. True hoopers and true basketball players are going to get out and perform.
My first six months were in Japan; then I went to Mexico and then went back to Japan. I had the opportunity to wrestle all the wrestlers from the United States, Europe, and Japan when I was there.
Basketball is great; no one in Europe seems to believe just how close the spectators can sit to the players.
Dancehall culture in Europe is very close to Jamaica. Europe and Japan have a very close link to Jamaican dancehall culture, where it's all about sound-systems and horns and girls dancing all crazy - that happens a lot in those places.
Athletes are going to tease each other. Football players want to be baseball players. Baseball players want to be football players. Basketball players want to be baseball players, and vice versa.
The great thing about [Michael] Jordan was that he made them want it just like he wanted it. And a lot of times like a lot of the basketball players, not to be getting on basketball, but, with a lot of the basketball players you might have one superstar on the team, and they're not willing to play up to par with the way he is, so they don't make it. But then you have some celebrities on the basketball team, and they don't know how to get along with each other!
Once I grew from 6'1' to about 6'6', by that time I was going into 12th grade, and that's when I started wanting to play basketball, because, pretty much basketball players always got the girl.
I was quietly rebellious. My parents thought I was very good but secretly I did things like saying I was staying in one place and going somewhere else instead. My older sister was openly rebellious and would tell my parents where to go, but I never did that.
For a long time, I thought I was going to play basketball. There's not many 6-4 white guys playing the three spot in the NBA, so I realized I probably didn't have much of a future in basketball and that football was probably going to be my best bet.
Living in Europe, I was surprised to find out just how little everyone knows about Japan.
I'm sure players in Europe would like to play in MLS, but you maybe have to change some little things to make it more attractive for the players in Europe.
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