Quotes About Sportsmanship

I never agreed too much about players talking about former teammates when they go somewhere else. I've never been a fan of that.

I've never been on the road and got cheered for, or even one of my teammates get cheered for by the opposing team.

I respected opponents as well as teammates and coaches.

It's not fun when you're losing, but it's fun when your teammates are diving for loose balls and you're helping them up and clapping for each other.

I think any player would say that they want their coaches' respect, they want their teammates' respect, and they want their opponent to respect them.

You don't have to be the greatest of friends off the floor. But on the floor you have to be able to play without any kind of hesitation for all your teammates. Whether you like the guy or not, you can still do what's right.

I played in the playoffs with teams that were known for flopping and you do not get respect.

Anytime you play a team sport, the success of the team really makes everything better. It's nice.

Now it was as if, at a basketball game, one side would argue about whether the court or the ball was exactly the right size until the other team got pissed off and left, giving them the win on a forfeit.

Now, if basketball had a designated foul-?shot shooter, maybe I'd consider. The other team fouls you, you get to pay them back. Boom. But that's not the way it works, in basketball or in life.

You shouldn't say mean things to people before they kill you. It's being a sore loser.

Play the game with a smile.

These days I smile benignly at the fights that I see in NBA games. There aren't any broken noses or black eyes, which happened quite often when I played.

I always want to take everybody down! But I think you can do it with a smile on your face and be nice and talking to them. You don't have to be mean or rude.

Let us play the game of life as sportsmen, pocketing our winnings with a smile, leaving our losings with a shrug.

You mustn't smile when you lose. You have to be sad like other people. You have to win every game.

FIFA stands for discipline, respect, fair-play, not just on the field of play, but in our society as well.

People abhor boxing, and I agree, but I admire men and women who can stand in a ring like that, nowhere to hide. I've only been to a couple of boxing matches, and they're different from any other event. I'm not there to see blood; I'm there for the heart of someone being able to get up and keep going. And for the respect that's often there in the end.

Don't think you are a great person just because you are a star in a given sport and win all the time because the next time, you may lose—and the time after that.

When we played, World Series checks meant something. Now all they do is screw up your taxes.

The rewards of golf, and of life too I expect, are worth very little if you don't play the game by the etiquette as well as by the rules.

Greatest thing in life: Winning a tennis match. Second greatest thing in life: Losing a tennis match

Moderation is essential in all things, madam, but never in my life have I failed to beat a teetotaller.

You should want to win. I still remember when I was little. Girls would score a goal, and we would walk together, high-five, and walk back to our positions. Boys are running around, going "I'm Number One." It wasn't like that for young girls. With girls, if you miss the ball on a tackle and hit the other player, it's like, "Oh my God, I'm so sorry.