Athletic Opportunities Quotes

I worry when athletes are simply used by their universities to produce revenue, to make money for them, nothing to show at the back end. I grew up with a lot of players who had very, very tough lives after the ball started bouncing for them. And that's why I'm going to continue to fight.

I wish I had more opportunities to play for Canada when I was younger, but pros just never had the chance in those days. It was just set up that way.

My plan always was to play college football, hope to get a few snaps in and then go on to medical school. As I went further in my career and got to my junior year, I realized as I looked around, 'I got a shot here, and I might as well go after it.'

In recent generations, women's sports have been a blessing. Some of us can remember the bad old days in the '50s, when we would discover in casual schoolyard play that a girl could outrun most of us or hold her own in basketball or hit a softball - but there were no teams, no coaches, for girls.

Once I got a bit older, and we could see there could be a future in football, it was everyone's blessing to chase that dream. And it did me a lot of good: It put me through college, it gave me an education, it got me a little taste of pro ball and a lot of good memories. I don't regret any of it.

I think we can benefit from being in the ACC. It's a great basketball league. If anything, it helps our recruiting.

I think that sports, particularly football, gave me an opportunity to be out front, to be a leader, which helped me later on, when I got into politics.

As a teenager I had no idea that I had the potential to win an Olympic gold medal and my athletic career developed only by lucky circumstances.

Back in the States, women play flag football, but they have the same opportunities as the guys do.

Then you've got Georgetown, and I really just like everything about them. When I went down there with my mom, it really opened my eyes to what they were all about. I have to factor in what a school like that can do for me, even away from being a basketball player.

In high school, I didn't get the chance to wrestle varsity until my senior year because I had an older brother who was better than me.

It is unusual for a coach to call you, just from a fundamental standpoint and say 'hey we're watching what you do.'

It's different today than it was then. In those days we were strictly amateurs. If I had wanted to stay in for the '80 Olympics, my parents couldn't have afforded it.

They didn't have college scholarships for women. Had they done that at the time, I may have stayed on for another two Olympics, but the opportunities were not available to women that they have today.

My high school class was the first one to know, during the college recruiting process, to know there was the option to play professional basketball, to know that the WNBA was there, and to know I better pick a school that is going to help me get to the next level.

And Title IX coming along there. I don't think Evan would have done any different than I did. I was fortunate to be there at a time when that was right.

I wasn't really that interested in playing. I had gone through some hard times not playing in high school, but my coach had it in his mind that basketball was the way I would get an education.

I didn't pick wrestling over football. My coaches picked that for me. I never wanted to wrestle in college. I always wanted to play football. They thought I was too small, but I had a lot of heart.

I played baseball growing up, second base, and then when I got to high school, it just didn't exist there.

I never thought I'd play basketball in China.

I think a lot of sporting organisations are really sitting up and taking notice, putting in some great programs and investing a lot into women's sports.

Sports has given me the opportunity to travel around the world and see new countries and meet so many different people. I've gained new perspectives.

I'm a competitive player, and I love being on the court. If the NBA cancels the season I'm definitely looking at my options and considering going overseas.

You as an individual coach have a responsibility to try to give those players who put themselves at risk and in harm's way a chance to achieve success, and that goes for universities and professional teams, as well.

Football was the best route to obtain my independence.