Quote 444 of 495

... one of the fascinating things about sports, it seems to me, is
that when it comes the way we think about professional athletes, we're
all liberals (without meaning to be, of course). We give people lots
of chances. (Think Jeff George). We go to extraordinary lengths to
help players reach their potential. We're forgiving of mistakes. When
the big man needs help with his footwork, we ship him off to Pete
Newell for the summer. We hold players accountable for their actions.
But we also believe, as a matter of principle, that players need
supportive environments in order to flourish. It would be nice if we
were as generous and as patient with the rest of society's
underachievers.
		-- Malcolm Gladwell, in a discussion with Bill Simmons,
		   ESPN's "Page 2"
		   http://sports.espn.go.com/espn/page2/story?page=simmons/060302

Tags: sports principle liberals footwork professionalathletes underachievers espn jeffgeorge supportiveenvironments petenewell malcolmgladwell espnpage2 billsimmonsespn