Quotes About Professionalism

No athlete ever ends his or her career the way you want to. We all want to play forever. But it doesn't work that way. Accepting the end gracefully is part of being a professional athlete.

My mum and dad are both sportspeople and know what's it all about. They know it's hard work, but they also know what it takes to become a professional athlete. I don't think - without their help, I wouldn't have got this far.

First of all, I really never imagined myself being a professional athlete.

As a professional athlete a lot is going to be said about you - but I just try to move forward and try to achieve my goals.

After any game you're going to get the love, the hate: That's just what comes with being a professional athlete.

With the responsibility of being a professional athlete, I believe that it is on us to go out there and help people.

This is a business. I'm a professional athlete. This isn't, 'poke somebody and start a street fight.'

I know I have a big future in front of me, so that's my main focus. So when I'm outside of the ring, I try to carry myself as a professional athlete, not just anybody.

With every passing week, I get an opportunity to improve my acting because I get to do it day in, day out. So a lot of times, I compare it to being a professional athlete.

I think every young man's goal is to be a professional athlete, whether it's the NBA, MLB, or the NFL.

That's why you went to school, because you realize that, being a professional athlete, there's a good chance you're not going to make it. You need an education, that's why for me, it was such an important decision to go to college and further my education to provide me a safety net in case this didn't work out.

As a professional athlete, the onus is on you to take responsibility.

Being a professional athlete, people respect the fact that I respect eSports professional gamers.

I think, a lot of guys who want to be professional football players, they see the Premiership players, and they see the finished article, but there's a lot of hard work that's gone into their careers for them to get there. There's a lot of sacrifice, and I think people tend to forget that.

It's none of our business, the sexual preference of people. So, I hope if someone's thinking about it, that if they do come out as gay and are a professional football player, and it makes them happy, and it makes their life easier, then I think they should do it.

I was just a kid who had arrived in the world of professional football and thought he could do anything he wanted. But I have learned from my mistakes. I have done everything to change, both on and off the pitch.

I'd like to run a professional football team. I'd love to run the USTA, be the sports editor of the 'New York Times.'

Since I was in high school, I wanted to play professional football and professional baseball, be a two-sport star.

To have six years of professional football under my belt already is really something.

For almost 15 years, professional football is about yourself: How can I improve? How can I make myself better? Before winning a game was the short-term reward that meant everything. Now, I can look at the bigger picture.

David Beckham, for me, every time he came to England camps he was an extremely professional football player.

I would try to be a striker even though I wasn't and once I started growing up and seeing professional football was a step closer I would look at Sergio Ramos. I always looked up to Ramos as an example and watched him a lot.

I always watched professional football and my father played at an amateur level, but I didn't think I wanted to become a pro.

I played professional football for 21 years, captained four clubs in the Premier League and won 39 caps for my country.