I like what he says. Are there any examples of his poetry online?
But, generally speaking, that 'box' is where many players prefer to
stay.
Doug
On 24-Aug-08, at 6:07 AM, Barry Alpert wrote:
> Etan Thomas, professional basketball player:
>
> Courting More Than Just Basketball
> By Etan Thomas
> Special to The Washington Post
> Sunday, November 20, 2005; Page M05
>
> Basketball is not all that I am, it is something I like to do. A lot
> of times people don't
> understand why I always make this point. Don't get me wrong:
> Everything about playing
> in the NBA is a blessing. I'm living the dream of every little boy
> who has ever picked up a
> basketball. So I'm thankful. But in our society, athletes are put
> into a box that limits our
> potential to delve into any other arena. Now, we can either allow
> ourselves to remain in
> this box, or we can resist these attempts. That's why my book of
> poems is titled "More
> Than an Athlete" -- because there's much more to me than what I do
> on the court.
>
> A lot of times preconceptions can get in the way of anyone truly
> seeing what's inside of a
> person. People are always blown away by the idea that I write
> poetry, and I ask them
> why? Because I'm a 6-10, 260-pound black man, I can't have an
> interest beyond the field
> of athletics? Or, after someone hears me recite one of my poems or
> hears a speech, I am
> graced with the words, "You speak so well," as if I'm supposed to
> take that as a
> compliment. Now, if they tell me they enjoyed my poem or they agree
> with my point of
> view, that's a compliment.
> . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
> What's inside of me is passion for so many things outside of the
> realm of basketball. I
> recently had the honor of speaking at an antiwar rally right on the
> Mall, in the shadows of
> the Washington Monument. I spoke about my opposition to the war, the
> Bush
> administration's seeming lack of concern regarding people on the
> other side of the tracks,
> health care, the education system, police brutality, unemployment,
> the justice system and
> other problems in our society to which the right is apparently
> oblivious. Since then, I
> have often been asked if I was afraid of repercussions for speaking
> out. But there is
> simply too much going on for me to keep silent. I have a voice, and
> I have to use it. In
> the same way Muhammad Ali, Bill Russell, Jim Brown, Tommie Smith and
> John Carlos
> used their positions as platforms, I feel obligated to speak out.
> All of my life, my mother
> has told me, "To whom much is given, much is expected."
>
> Etan Thomas is a center for the Washington Wizards. He is also the
> author of "More Than
> an Athlete: Poems by Etan Thomas" (Moore Black Press, $19.95).
>
>
> On Sun, 24 Aug 2008 11:49:21 +0100, David Bircumshaw
> <[log in to unmask]> wrote:
>
> Other well-known athletic poets: Leopardi, Pope.
>
Douglas Barbour
[log in to unmask]
http://www.ualberta.ca/~dbarbour/
Latest books:
Continuations (with Sheila E Murphy)
http://www.uap.ualberta.ca/UAP.asp?LID=41&bookID=664
Wednesdays'
http://abovegroundpress.blogspot.com/2008/03/new-from-aboveground-press_10.html
A little planet blues, for the
deathwatch.
A season of rictus riffs.
Dennis Lee
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