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Five Questions with Etan Thomas

The NBA veteran reveals all about his favorite interests and experiences on and off the court.  Don't forget to check out exciting information about him and all your other favorite NBA Players at NBPA.com

Q: WHERE DID YOUR INSPIRATION TO WRITE POETRY COME FROM? WHO IS ONE OF YOUR FAVORITE POETS AND WHY?

A: My mother being a teacher encouraged me to read & write down my thoughts. One of the first books I read was the Autobiography of Malcolm X. There are many poets I like from Saul Williams to Fredrick Douglas to Maya Angelou to Gwendolyn Brooks. Amiri Baraka, who I have shared the stage with, is another poet I respect. His social commentary in his poetry inspires debate and thought. Poetry can be therapeutic for me, so when I use my poetry to speak to young people, it is my goal to inspire them to think, debate and write for themselves.

Q: TALK ABOUT VOICES OF THE FUTURE…WHAT IS IT ALL ABOUT?

A: Voices of the Future is a project that will allow young people to be able to express their opinions, beliefs and thoughts to the world. The book is going to be broken down into chapters ranging from the War in Iraq, Racism, Abortion and President Barack Obama, etc. I will begin each chapter with a poem on the particular subject, and all of their writings will follow. And just to be clear, it’s not about getting a lot of young people who agree or view a certain topic the same way I do. I want to get all opinions and beliefs, no matter what side of the fence they are on. I want them to speak with passion and present their position through poetry, a speech, prose, or whatever method they choose. The book will also contain an insert of a CD with tracks of me reciting some of my poems to beats, similar to the one Aids that’s on the WEbook website. I did this with my first book More Than An Athlete, and it seemed to go over pretty well. Sometimes, young people like to hear poems, as well as read them, so it’s good to have that option. I remember when I was younger listening to poets like the Last Poets, Gil Scott Heron, and Shakespeare on CDs. Even now, listening to poets like Saul Williams, Black Ice, Talaam AC, Queen Sheba, 13 of Nazareth or Nathan James on CDs, you just get a whole different feel for the poems. So therefore, I like giving that option of reading or listening.

Q:WHICH OF TODAY'S GLOBAL ISSUES ARE MOST SIGNIFICANT TO YOU? WHY IS IT A PRIORITY FOR YOU TO BRING IT TO THE FOREFRONT?

A: Young adults and their issues with education and their growth. I think that adults don’t give young people enough credit. Adults think that young people are only interested in BET and MTV and video games, but that is far from true. That’s why with this new book project on WEbook, I wanted to show this side of young people that often goes unheard. I wish people would be able to see what I see when I go and speak at some of these schools. These young people are up on current events; they know the issues, have well expressed positions and present their arguments well. I remember one time going to a charter school in DC, and I asked the audience what they wanted to talk about. I do that sometimes because I would rather know what’s on their minds than stand up there and talk their ears off for whatever time is allotted. Well, I asked this question and they wanted to talk about gay marriage. I looked at the teachers and they said it was fine with them. Then, the debate started. Hands started shooting up all over the audience one after the other. These were teenagers expressing positions for gay marriage and against it. They presented the same arguments you would hear on CNN or MSNBC. But adults for some reason don’t believe that young people have opinions on these subjects. Even WEbook (no offense) was a little hesitant with some topics that I wanted to include. But my manager, Carlisle Sealy, made a good point to me in saying that hopefully if this project goes well, we will do a Vol. 2, and then we can include those topics such as gay marriage, healthcare, pedophiles, repeat sex offenders, etc. I was thinking about having an entire chapter on R. Kelly because he was the only topic young people wanted to discuss on a few occasions, especially after his case was dropped. But we have a good list of chapters. I think that everyone who reads this book is going to be impressed, just as I always am by the young people’s writings.

Q: AS A ROLE MODEL TO CHILDREN, WHAT IS THE MOST IMPORTANT MESSAGE YOU'D LIKE TO COMMUNICATE TO THE YOUNGER GENERATION?

A: It’s simple. Believe in yourself, overcome doubt and never allow the haters to dictate your potential. Haters are people who want to keep you down, want to discourage you from achieving your goals. In my first book, I told the story of Doug Collins, who told me my rookie year that he didn’t feel that I would make it in the NBA. He told people around him, other coaches and media people as well. He was a real piece of work. But I wrote a poem about how his words wouldn’t defeat me and that I would make it despite what he thought. I used that poem as motivation for quite sometime. I would read it or listen to it and it would remind me that there were people who expected – and sometimes hoped – for me to fail. Why you ask? Because they are haters. That’s what haters do, they hate, like it’s their job or something. I want young people to write about the haters in their own lives and how they are going to make sure that they proved them wrong. That’s the best feeling in the world: to prove someone wrong who told you that you couldn’t do something. My message to young people when speaking about haters, people who did you wrong or people who you thought were on your side but turned out to be wolves in sheep’s clothing so to speak, is to write about it. Poetry can be therapeutic. It’s not good to keep all that inside. You have to have some type of an outlet, and this is one that is positive. I utilize this method when having sessions with my guys at the Free Mind Book Club at the DC Prison. Everyone can relate to haters because they have been around since the days of Jesus. I always quote my mother in saying, ‘If they hated on Jesus, what makes you think that they won’t hate on you too?’ But getting that anger, that frustration, out in a positive way can really help, especially if you prove them wrong.

Q: YOU HAVE TAKEN A TREMENDOUS INTEREST IN POLITICS. HAS THAT BEEN INFLUENCED BY YOUR SEVERAL YEARS PLAYING AND LIVING IN WASHINGTON DC? IF SO, HOW?

A: I have always had a strong interest in politics. Being in DC certainly helped feed that interest, but wasn’t the starting point. I don’t know if I would want to run for Congress or anything, but at the same time, I wouldn’t rule it out. There are just a lot of things that I see that aren’t fair, and that’s what drives my passion for politics. Whether it’s the war, the school system, healthcare, police brutality or the death penalty, there is just so much in society that isn’t the way that it’s supposed to be. Not to mention, foreign policy, immigration, the environment, abortion, gun control, all topics that simply cannot be ignored. I could definitely see myself looking into becoming a professor at an HBCU. I am going to continue writing regardless. I could also see myself coming back to Maryland and running for Executive of Prince George’s County. I am actually going to shadow the current Executive of Prince George’s County, Jack Johnson, for a day early in September. I want to learn as much as I can and really see everything his job entails firsthand. Who knows what will happen in the future. I am going to try to stretch out my basketball career for as long as I can, and then we’ll see what happens when the next phase of my life begins. I have to say I am blessed.

Please access the link below to read more about Etan Thomas' current project: Voices of Our Future.

http://www.webook.com/landing/Etan-Thomas-Presents-Voices-of-Our-Future