African Americans

"Mays said he thought maybe the Skinner catch was a bit better than yesterday's, as well as a catch he made on a ball hit this season by Gus Bell of the Cincinnati Reds. "But I don't want to compare 'em," said Willie. "I'm just a ballplayer, not a sports writer. I don't compare 'em; I just catch 'em.""

"Gee, I've been asked hundreds of questions about that catch in the first game of the World Series. The one that Vic Wertz hit for Cleveland. Was it my best catch? How did I play it? Honestly, I don't rate 'em—I just try to catch 'em. When he hit the ball, I just started toward the place it was heading. And I got there."

"Every time I've done something in the community, each of the people that I've met, they're an inspiration to me. Their spirits are so high. What I'm going through on the field is nothing compared to what they're going through. Their issue is a matter of life and death. Just being able to put one moment of happiness in their life, that's something that I really cherish doing."

"The Javon Ringer Show is gathering steam with each passing game. What Michigan State has known since his arrival on campus in 2005, the nation is now seeing on highlight reels with regularity on Saturday nights. But Javon's focus remains the same. He will continue to praise his teammates. He will continue to be a fixture in the community. And he will continue to lead with a quiet, steady demeanor that signifies dignity in all aspects of his life."

"Javon's definitely a go-to guy as far as helping out in the community. He's not seeking the attention. Everything he does is for the right reasons, and he's willing to take the time, which he doesn't have a lot of. He's not doing it because I'm telling him he has to go out, or because he's the face of Michigan State football. When he's out there, he's doing it because he believes in doing it.""

"It's really something to block for him. Even if he has just a little space, he's gone. His quickness is unbelievable, and the plays he makes are just fun to watch. It makes me want to work harder for him because he gives everything he has, and always leaves everything out on the field."

"When you put the ball in his hands there is no telling what is going to happen - sometimes I am just amazed watching what he can do even though I am playing on the same field he is."

"Javon Ringer works harder than anybody, For the younger backs to see how hard he competes and prepares himself every week makes him a great role model.""

"He's a freak - he never gets tired."

"Javon is an extremely talented player, but what makes him an outstanding player and what sets him apart are the intangibles. It's the toughness, the attention to detail, the work ethic, and the tenacity. He is completely unselfish and has confidence in himself and his teammates."

"Javon Ringer "epitomizes everything a student-athlete should be.""

"Javon Ringer is a special player and a special young man. He has incredible heart and courage. After suffering what appeared to be a season-ending knee injury, Javon willed himself back onto the playing field. He worked his tail off, so he could go to the field and compete with his teammates."

"He's extremely self-motivated. He doesn't need pep-talks. He challenges himself every day."

"In practice he never stopped until you blew the whistle, There were times he'd keep running, going across the parking lot and into neighborhood, and one of the kids would say, "Coach, you forgot to blow the whistle. You have to go get Javon.""

"I think he’s very good and very blessed to be operating behind those five guys. That’s the big problem, having to sort through those five big guys to find where he is. When they all come off at one time they look like a herd of water buffalo stampeding at you and there’s a gazelle somewhere in behind them. He’s also very persistent and you can see how strong he is."

"My offensive player of the year is going to be Javon Ringer for the way he has carried his team and the workhorse load that he’s carried all year long. Everyone knows he’s getting the football yet he continues to produce."

"You can hit him and hit him and hit him and he just keeps on coming. I think that I learned a long time ago that one attribute that great players have is stamina, and he obviously has great stamina."

"He’s total team player - it’s not about him, and you can’t say enough about him as a person aside from his athletic abilities. But it’s the person in him, it’s the intangibles within him that make him the back that he is. There are other guys who are just as explosive and just as fast, but it’s the things inside of him that make him special."

"Michigan State already has one of the coolest mascots in college football, but if Sparty ever needs a day off, Javon Ringer could do the job. After all, he already does just about everything else for MSU."

"I know with my size, a lot of people might think I'm like a slasher, a make-you-miss guy, which I can do that. But I also like to lower my shoulder and get the tough yards, too. I like contact. I like to mix it up."

"I was brought up knowing you can't do anything truly by yourself. It's God blessing you in some way, shape or form. I have a religious family, and that's just how I was raised. Being a running back, it's also very obvious to me. Any running back that's ever played football, all of the success comes from the people up front. There's no way a running back can be good if nobody is blocking for him."

"I just take one day at a time, pray, and know that whatever happens is God's will, so there's nothing I can do to change that."

"I thank God that my body has been able to handle this kind of workload. I don't know if I will ever be like Lorenzo White, but that's the goal I'm trying to get to."

"I just love to compete"

"A lot of that just comes from my upbringing. I have a tremendous mother and father, I grew up in the church, I have a very religious family. I’m not all about myself just because I know if it wasn’t for God, I wouldn’t be able to go out there and compete anyway. So I never look at it as a selfish thing—I never want all the attention or want it to be about me, because I never want to get in to a situation where God has to humble me. I know for a fact that I am not doing it by myself; it is because of Him that I can compete over and over again. That’s basically how I grew up. I was blessed and fortunate to have a family like I have."

"I'll go anywhere. To get picked up somewhere will be a blessing"

"I personally was disappointed because I know I'm a lot faster than that. But I was able to do that just coming off knee surgery, so if I look at it that way, I'm happy."

"Honestly, my number-one motivation is my family."

"I guess you really have to understand who that person, who that Curt Flood was. I'm a child of the 60s. I'm a man of the 60s. During that period of time, this country was coming apart at the seams. We were in Southeast Asia...Good men were dying for America and for the Constitution. In the Southern part of the United States we were marching for civil rights and Dr. King had been assasinated, and we lost the Kennedys. And to think that merely because I was a professional baseball player, I could ignore what was going on outside the walls of Busch Stadium [was] truly hypocrisy, and now I found that all of those rights that these great Americans were dying for, I didn't have in my own profession."

"My guys, my colleagues didn't stand up with me. And I can't make any excuse for them. Had we shown any amount of solidarity, if the superstars had stood up and said 'We're with Curt Flood,' if the superstars had walked into the courtroom in New York and made their presence known, I think that the owners would have gotten the message very clearly and given me a chance to win that case."

"I often wondered what I would do if I were ever traded because it happened many, many times, and it was "part of the game." And then suddenly it happened to me. I was leaving probably one of the greatest organizations in the world to at that time what was probably the least liked, and by God, this is America, and I'm a human being. I'm not a piece of property. I'm not a consignment of goods."

"After twelve years in the major leagues, I do not feel I am a piece of property to be bought and sold irrespective of my wishes. I believe that any system which produces that result violates my basic rights as a citizen and is inconsistent with the laws of the United States and of the several States."

"[...] the only folks who kill black folks any more are black folks."

"[...] black folks kill more black folks than the KKK ever did."

"Take your patience pill ...You can be joyous, but you can't be a jackass."

"There are people who grew up in rough environments, and you just don't hear about it. And they make it in business. They're doctors. They're lawyers. But we're not talking about that. I don't think that makes me what I am. What makes me what I am is that you have success, but you keep your head on straight and you make the right decisions in life."

"When they have their hands on their knees, that's when they're tired. If I get the ball enough times, something’s going to give – me or the defense."

"I run upright mostly when I see daylight, so if you watch film you'll see I don't get hit in the chest much."

"I'd not only be cheating myself, but I'd be cheating my teammates if I continued to make the money that I was making and wasn't producing or putting out to the level of payment that I was receiving. That's just me."

"I think as a kid I never really understood the magnitude of a hurricane and what it could do."

"In my mind and my heart, I feel like I'm the better player. But I feel like I'm better than anybody who ever played the game, but that's just how it is, that's the only way you can succeed. And in his mind, he (Jackson) feels like he's the better player and the best player who has ever played the position. You have to have that attitude to succeed, but you can't have the ego to the point where you don't understand how him starting and me playing the role helps the team."

"After 7 long years, Finally, FINALLY, FINALLY, The Rock has come back to Anaheim! Which means FINALLY, The Rock has come back to Monday Night Raw! Which means FINALLY, The Rock HAS COME BACK... home."

"The Rock: I need to take this moment, and I need to tell you something as Dwayne. It's been a long time since I've been back. Seven years to be exact; but I want to take this moment, in the middle of this ring, to tell you why I'm back. It's not because of the money. It's not to promote a movie. I am back in the middle of this ring because of you. When I left - when I left the WWE seven years ago I dreamed big, and you guys dreamed big with me. You helped me accomplish my goals - accomplish my dreams - because you never. left. my side; and I wanna take this moment to tell you all here - you're live here - millions watching around the world. I wanna tell you thank you. I love you, and it is because of you that I am back in this ring, and it is because of you - and I give you my word - I am never ever going away. Simply put, ladies and gentlemen, The Rock is back!"

"The Rock: And I quote: You know your damn role and Shut Your Damn Mouth!"

"The wok: I have so much love and respect for the fans. I'll never forget where I came from. I love the business. I grew up in the business. And everyone always asks me, from Letterman to Stone Phillips, what I miss about wrestling. Hands down, I miss the interaction with the fans. Outside of the ring I loved it, too. I mean, how hard is it to sign an autograph? Don't be an asshole to your fans. And there's many [in WWE] that won't, which is bullshit. But inside the ring, just that energy and feeding off that energy is great. There's something so special about it. And every night I would just have a blueprint of what I would say and rely so much on ad-libbing and waiting to see what happens when I get out there and let it materialize organically and see what happens. Every night was a different crowd and they gave me so much energy, and I'll always love that and always miss that for sure."

"The Rock: Michael Cole, Is that what you think? Michael Cole: I'll tell you what I think... The Rock: IT DOESN'T MATTER WHAT YOU THINK!"

"Roger [Goodell] said he didn't want me in the scrip club. I was like, well, you know, I don't think there's nothing wrong with going to the scrip club. It ain't no sin to go to the scrip club, you know. I was just being rebellion."

"On the highway, I hit a deer. I kept him. He's at home in the garage on the rafters. I'm going to use him for the celebration this weekend. He's a prop. They might suspend me for the last game, but I think this one is worth it. This is going to be the greatest celebration of all time, man. I actually use an animal."

"If you're going to do it, do it very cautiously. If you're going to ride a bike, ride it the right way. Don't speed. Do it for enjoyment. If you're going to bungee jump, have two cords in case one snaps. I don't ride anything. I just talk trash. That's it."

"I'm struggling to … change a lot of people's minds about buying and wearing fur. To tell you the truth, when I was younger growing up, I thought it was all fake … So once I found out what really happens, I had the opportunity to do this, so I really wanted to become part of it. I wanted to get involved with the campaign basically because I’m an avid animal lover. You know, I have pets of my own―I’ve had them since I was a little kid. Animals always want to pick you up, no matter what."