Comments on: Interview with Washington Wizard center, Etan Thomas

By: Brandon Marshall’s “Time and Place” | Sports On My Mind

Brandon Marshall’s “Time and Place” | Sports On My Mind — Tue, 11 Nov 2008 15:29:42 +0000

[...] Etan Thomas denounced the Iraq War in 2004, he attempted to get his position published but was rejected by a whole host of mainstream newspapers. In fact, the ONLY reason Marshall’s aborted call for racial unity received extended media [...]

By: ESPN’s Rap Sheet: “Pacman as Black Man” | Sports On My Mind

Thu, 16 Oct 2008 13:40:59 +0000

[...] luckily stumbling across this freshly posted MUST READ interview on The Starting Five, we will defer to NBA player Etan Thomas for this portion of the proceedings. Besides, it will be [...]

By: The Starting Five » Blog Archive » NBA On TNT Playoff Notes: “I hate to see Avery Johnson (get fired) but coaches are going to get fired.”

Thu, 01 May 2008 15:31:31 +0000

[...] Photo/Tony Dejak) Whassup Etan? What’s good with [...]

By: lolita

lolita — Thu, 27 Mar 2008 17:27:13 +0000

vous etes de quelle societer?

By: Interview With Sacramento Kings Forward Ron Artest: “I Keep It 100%” « The Starting Five

Wed, 19 Dec 2007 14:11:50 +0000

[...] wasn’t publicized more thoroughly. It was Etan Thomas, Maurice Evans, you and some others. I interviewed Etan for a blog I run with some talented brothas called The Starting Five. One of our many [...]

By: michelle tafoya « jaime leo paper

michelle tafoya « jaime leo paper — Tue, 18 Dec 2007 10:45:28 +0000

[...] just spoke with the publicist brazeros musical Etan Thomas and he relayed to me that during a routine physical doctors discovered what led to his recent [...]

By: Buggin Out: Stephen A. Done at the Philadelphia Inquirer. OJ Who, What? Imus is Back, so are Dusty and Tom Osborne. What about Minnesota 1998? Etan get well soon. Jaws just shut up! « The Starting Five

Fri, 19 Oct 2007 20:26:34 +0000

[...] Minnesota 1998? Etan get well soon. Jaws just shut up! I just spoke with the publicist of Etan Thomas and he relayed to me that during a routine physical doctors discovered what led to his recent [...]

By: White Lies: It’s Not Steve Nash’s Fault! | COSELLOUT: Tellin' It Like It Is when the "Cosellouts" Won't

Sun, 14 Oct 2007 22:22:54 +0000

[...] to make his feelings known and was initially met with roadblocks. In this interview given with The Starting Five this is what Thomas had to say: “…Back when I first wanted to come out publicly [...]

By: COSELLOUT: Tellin’ It Like It Is when the “Cosellouts” Won’t » Blog Archive » ESPN’s RAP SHEET: “Pacman as Black Man”

Sat, 04 Aug 2007 17:09:11 +0000

[...] luckily stumbling across this freshly posted MUST READ interview on The Starting Five, we will defer to NBA player Etan Thomas for this portion of the proceedings. Besides, it will be [...]

By: Danny Schayes' Goggles

Danny Schayes' Goggles — Thu, 02 Aug 2007 18:11:52 +0000

Etan is a man’s man, going all the way back to when he carried SU deep into the NCAA tourney.

By: COSELLOUT: Tellin’ It Like It Is when the “Cosellouts” Won’t » Blog Archive » ESPN’s RAP SHEET: “Pacman as Black Man”

Wed, 01 Aug 2007 03:08:57 +0000

[...] Deliberation: After luckily stumbling across this freshly posted MUST READ interview on The Starting Five, we will defer to NBA player Etan Thomas for this portion of the proceedings. Besides, it will be [...]

By: Phyllis Murchison

Phyllis Murchison — Sat, 21 Jul 2007 14:19:29 +0000

Greetings to all!

Re: Etan Thomas

I am a fan of the NBA for years going back to the late 80’s…….

Anyway, wanted to say Etan Thomas is AWESOME! The media, especially sport media doesn’t even acknowledge him it’s so SAD. Just because of his positive, powerful message. I know it’s tough, but maybe Etan need to contact some of these noticeable African Americans sport celebrities who the media would focus and have focus on…get them involved with his work…if they’re interested? I guess that’s the question…It’s an start.

I see Etan as an politician……Etan, keep up the good and powerful work!!!

Peace and many blessings~
Phyllis

By: Give Me The Rock » The Eddie House All-Stars

Give Me The Rock » The Eddie House All-Stars — Thu, 19 Jul 2007 23:05:01 +0000

[...] Thomas (C): Every good all-star team needs a published poet. The Eddie House All-Stars are no different. Thomas slides under the threshold by playing 19.2 [...]

By: Mr. OK Jazz

Mr. OK Jazz — Wed, 18 Jul 2007 08:57:22 +0000

Great interview, Etan is now my new favorite basketball player, and second favorite all-time after Dr. J…

Mr. OK Jazz

By: Black Athletes are the Muslims of the Sportsworld : Muslim Bloggers Alliance

Black Athletes are the Muslims of the Sportsworld : Muslim Bloggers Alliance — Tue, 17 Jul 2007 17:32:15 +0000

[...] quote from an interview with full-time activist, part-time NBA player Etan Thomas builds on my analogy with his reference [...]

By: mizzo

mizzo — Fri, 13 Jul 2007 12:01:10 +0000

Charles. Excellent article. Very detailed down to the footnotes. Good work. Thanks for linking us.

Keep doing what you do!

By: Charles

Charles — Fri, 13 Jul 2007 11:22:13 +0000

As I said earlier thanks for the Etan Interview. It certainly has not gone to waste as I have referenced heavy portions of it in this new article that was partially inspired by stuff on your site, but has been a thorn in my side for a long time. ESPN has been put on trial! Please check it out:

ESPN’s RAP SHEET: “Pacman as Black Man”
http://killbigotry.blogspot.com/2007/07/espns-rap-sheet-pacman-as-black-man.html

By: mizzo

mizzo — Thu, 12 Jul 2007 20:51:25 +0000

Admire said perspective, but don’t doubt a similar sense embedded in your own soul. The talented tenth leads, but we all should be inspired by their courageous example that trickles down to the toddler with a sun lit gleam in his/her eye.

By: TC

TC — Thu, 12 Jul 2007 20:50:31 +0000

Fantastic interview dwil. Etan Thomas is an admirable man.

By: Extra P.

Extra P. — Thu, 12 Jul 2007 20:14:39 +0000

Mizzo – just the fact that he knows that confusion and resistence need to be faced means he’s considered those issues himself. It just proves moreover that he is a real thinker (I won’t use intellectual, too much baggage in that word) in every aspect of his life, and has a great perspective. I admire that. I’m not sure I can match it in my own life.

By: mizzo

mizzo — Thu, 12 Jul 2007 18:57:49 +0000

BB and Pat: Makes you wonder about the true agenda of MSM. Do they want progressive and socially uplifting content or a continuance of yellow journalism?

EP thanks for your comment. I wondered when someone would address the spiritual side of Etan.

By: Pats4X

Pats4X — Thu, 12 Jul 2007 18:32:41 +0000

Melo is in the same boat as Stephon. Based on media portrayal, most common fans think Melo is a total “thug”. However, Bill Walton said in a live broadcast that Carmelo gave more to charity than any other pro athlete in 2006. I also read that he was #8 on the list of all celebrities making charitible contributions last year. All I heard about on Sportscenter, though, was the fight he got in against the Knicks and the “Stop Snitching” video.

By: Cheap Shots #44: The Worst Part Is That She Looked “Wobbly.” « Signal to Noise

Thu, 12 Jul 2007 17:35:03 +0000

[...] An interview with Wizards C Etan Thomas. [The Starting Five] [...]

By: The Brooklyn Boy

The Brooklyn Boy — Thu, 12 Jul 2007 15:54:16 +0000

Yeah … so evidently time and too many nights out in a row prevented me from remembering I posted a comment that almost completely mirrors that one on the previous “Stephon does good works” post. Sorry for the redundancies.

By: The Brooklyn Boy

The Brooklyn Boy — Thu, 12 Jul 2007 15:39:21 +0000

In light of this post, the treatment of Stephon Marbury’s charitable efforts has been driving me nuts for years. The popular media and fan perception you hear is “Stephon’s a bad guy. A Loser. A cancer. A thug. (see: neck tattoos)” And this dude is singlehandedly taking on the shoe industry while simultaneously doing – and funding – more charitable work than pretty much any athlete I’ve heard. And I only know this because I pay attention to the blurbs at the ends of Knicks notes columns or the blog entries the beat writers post. But editors don’t give these stories more space to breathe because they’re “fluff” or “free PR,” which is crap. Negative negative negative. Ugh. Even that story about Darius Miles funding the funeral costs for the kid that died in the camping accident was a minor (throwaway?) blurb.

By: CC

CC — Thu, 12 Jul 2007 15:26:07 +0000

I look forward to Thomas blocking some Spencer Hawes shots this season.

By: Extra P.

Extra P. — Thu, 12 Jul 2007 15:10:17 +0000

“My wife and I will be working with a camp with our church, First Baptist of Glen Arden where we talk to young people dealing with issues ranging from being frustrated confused or outright struggling with religion as a whole”

I’ll be honest with you – I’m not much of a church-going guy. But this is what I like to hear from people with a spiritual drive. Let’s stop telling people to shut up and believe, especially kids. Talking to them honestly about the contradictions and difficulties they will face is the way to go about it.

By: Link Wray « The Extrapolater

Link Wray « The Extrapolater — Thu, 12 Jul 2007 14:27:43 +0000

[...] The Starting Five’s dedication to the interview process. You may not think about Etan Thomas very often. Here’s why you should. [...]

By: Pats4X

Pats4X — Thu, 12 Jul 2007 14:19:10 +0000

The work Etan does is very inspiring. I wish that I heard more stories of him inspiring other athletes and/or building consensus with them and other powerful people. Obviously the trip with Artest, Fisher, etc… sounds great.

Not to diminsih his hoops skills, because he’s made a nice career for himself, but imagine if a real legit superstar was interested in the same type of work that he is doing. What an impact it could have. You would think that the NBA might want to showcase a guy like Thomas. So while I would never suggest that he stop talking to groups like prisons and and youth, it would be great if he could speak to NBA sponsors, other players, etc… Change and empowerment can happen two ways…

1. “Bottom-up theory” – This consists of the great work Etan is doing now- talking to the marginalized populations in our society and encouraging them to empower themselves.

2. “Top-down” – Get the people with money, power, executive know-how, etc… to listen to your message so that they can implement programs and policies that open doors for marginalized people.

It’s sad that (as Etan explained when Zirin was the only MSM guy to publish his thoughts) there aren’t many people from the “high” end of society who are hearing Etan’s message and helping him spread it.

Last thought (which has been stated a few times already in comments)- it’s hilarious (sad, actually), that if I hadn’t read Zirin’s work and Starting 5, which most typical sports fans have not, the only thing I’d hear about Thomas is his constant fighting with Brendan Haywood. Thanks MSM.

By: Buzzer Beaters « HoopsAddict.com

Buzzer Beaters « HoopsAddict.com — Thu, 12 Jul 2007 10:19:21 +0000

[...] Tillery posted an exclusive interview with Etan Thomas over at The Starting [...]