Having grown up in a segregated environment in the south I know what it's like to be stepped on, I know what it's like also to see some black hero do well in the face of adversity.

When we were together, I loved you deeply and you gave me so much happiness I can never repay you.

You've got to get to the stage in life where going for it is more important than winning or losing.

Every time you win, it diminishes the fear a little bit. You never really cancel the fear of losing; you keep challenging it.

Racism is not an excuse to not do the best you can.

I have become convinced that we blacks spend too much time on the playing field and too little time in libraries.

The ideal attitude is to be physically loose and mentally tight.