John Thompson Quotes on Education (8 Quotes)

What he did was the right thing for him. Unfortunately, it has a negative influence on a lot of other people. Going into professional sports and making the money he's made does not close the option for him to still get a formal education. It does close the option for a kid that does not make it. If I'm some kid from the inner-city who has used athletics to motivate myself and I miss, I have no more options.

It was supposed to be such a big moment for integration, but that's all just BS. The game was in College Park, Md., and I was here at the time and nobody was talking about it as a big deal. Sure, in the Black community, we quietly said, 'Good,' but nobody was running around saying how great it was.

We had seven players over the years from New Orleans. A rich tradition there. Starting with Steve Martin now an executive with the NBA New Orleans Hornets. They all had old-fashioned values -- good kids -- strongly attached to the city and their high schools. The kids we had were smart and willing.

They are still in college. They are good, very good. It's not important how they compare to some of the guys I coached. What's important is how they compare against their peers, and they are damn good.

She was discussing with me the things available to someone like me to get into teaching. I had heard about Teach Tennessee and I got online and got some information sent to me. It was a major packet of information you had to have, and proof that you've got these skills (to teach).

Any time you add additional duties, teachers expect to be paid, which is reasonable. But with pension and health care costs going through the roof, we can't afford things like higher pay for more work.

You want to protect the interest of the kids -- not worry so much about the school -- and do what's best for the player. After what these kids have been through, the NCAA ought to permit them to play anywhere, not punish them and make judgments.

When you get into teaching, not being what you studied in college the first time around, unless you drop what you're doing and go back to school full-time, it's kinda hard to get into.