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I needed to go to class I needed to go to practice I needed to have a life away from basketball.

Kareem Abdul-Jabbar

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Kareem Abdul-Jabbar
Age: 77
Born: 1947
Born: April 16
Actor
Author
Basketball Coach
Basketball Player
Film Producer
Screenwriter
Television Actor
New York City
New York
Ferdinand Lewis Alcindor
Jr.
Lew Alcindor
Away
Life
Basketball
Needed
Class
Practice

More quotes by Kareem Abdul-Jabbar

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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.
Kareem Abdul-Jabbar
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I would suggest that teachers show their students concrete examples of the negative effects of the actions that gangsta rappers glorify.
Kareem Abdul-Jabbar
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I was especially impressed with Pauley Pavilion [at UCLA campus ]. The floors hadn't been laid down yet, when they gave me the tour, each new room got my heart thumping. They even had a surgical operating room in case an athlete was severely injured.
Kareem Abdul-Jabbar
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Center is a very tough position to play.
Kareem Abdul-Jabbar
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A lot of young players don't really know much about the history of the game and a lot of them are missing out on what the game is all about, especially the whole concept of sportsmanship and teamwork.
Kareem Abdul-Jabbar
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There are a lot of authors in the world, so it's difficult to find a unique niche to present your take on things. That is always a challenge for any author.
Kareem Abdul-Jabbar
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This is what I would have done if I had to have a real job: I would have been a history teacher.
Kareem Abdul-Jabbar
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One man can be a crucial ingredient on a team, but one man cannot make a team.
Kareem Abdul-Jabbar
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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.
Kareem Abdul-Jabbar
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I didn't really seek attention. I just wanted to play the game well and go home.
Kareem Abdul-Jabbar
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I feel that Dennis Rodman has become a problem. He will be more of a problem than an asset. Of course, he can prove me wrong.
Kareem Abdul-Jabbar
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I've kept in touch with many of my former teammates: Bob Marcucci was our team manager and we bonded over our passion for baseball.
Kareem Abdul-Jabbar
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I think black Americans expect too much from individual black Americans in terms of changing the status quo.
Kareem Abdul-Jabbar
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Actor Mike Warren [was my former teammate], who was in Hill Street Blues. There are more, but it's starting to sound like a team reunion at Red Lobster. They were a great bunch of guys and we accomplished a lot together. That's something you don't forget.
Kareem Abdul-Jabbar
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Each story, novel, poem and play presents a vision of the world that illuminates the dark cave of life we stumble through. We can see better where we're going, what sudden drop to avoid, where the cool water is running.
Kareem Abdul-Jabbar
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Culture and politics were inseparable [in the Sixties], which gave a soundtrack to political awareness and activism.
Kareem Abdul-Jabbar
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I have been coaching recently. I coached high school basketball in Arizona, and I hope that more opportunities become available.
Kareem Abdul-Jabbar
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I think race has been a burden for black Americans. Being Muslim has also been a challenge because so many people do not understand Islam.
Kareem Abdul-Jabbar
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Great players are willing to give up their own personal achievement for the achievement of the group. It enhances everybody.
Kareem Abdul-Jabbar
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The type of leukemia that I am dealing with is treatable. So if I do what my doctors tell me to do - get my blood checked regularly, take my meds and consult with my doctor and follow any additional instructions he might make - I will be able to maintain my good health and live my life with a minimum of disruptions to my lifestyle.
Kareem Abdul-Jabbar