Pat Summitt Quotes

I'd rather be a victor than a victim.

I don't want to be a victim. I want to be a victor.

The act of me just being robust in the world is so radical - it's so radical for a black woman to think she's going to be a star, because it takes so much to get there. It's still a battle every day, but I feel happy because I feel like I cracked the code and figured out how to work through it. Now I want to give the map to other women.

To go from being an unpopular, chubby little kid who was chasing girls and couldn't seem to catch them, to being chased after and making sure I ran slow enough that I did get caught, it was 180 degree turn. It was being given the keys to the candy store.

Before all this happened, I always used to see my stammer as being a negative, all my life, but then when I went on 'Pop Idol,' and the first time I saw it on television, it was really, really bad, but also it made me stand out; it made people remember me. So for the first time in my life, it worked to my advantage.

As a sophomore, I wanted to play varsity in three sports. And I accomplished that. It was a great feat that year, and something I held special. I wanted to bring a championship team to Oceanside High School, and it happened. It was a great year that I will never forget.

Women need opportunity and encouragement. If a girl can climb mountains, she can do anything positive within her field of work.

Just as the Red Sox proved the critics wrong, Maine can compete and can win.

I don't think people were betting on me, but they were giving me a chance. I think I rode a wave there, by being different in appearance than the girls who preceded me.

Win one for the Gipper.

Conquering any difficulty always gives one a secret joy, for it means pushing back a boundary-line and adding to one's liberty.

I was World Series champion in individual and synchro for the first time which was awesome.

I am fortunate: my parents told me the world was my oyster, when they could have said I wouldn't make it for a lot of reasons - rural, girl, small African country. So, no regrets.

Through everything I've gone through- and I've been everywhere, at the top of the world, in jail, hung over drunk - I never gave up my dream of winning a gold medal in the Olympics.

And I remember how proud I was to put on my training jersey and go out on the field. Making it back to that environment was for me my greatest moment, because somebody had told me I couldn't do it and I never gave up on myself, the game and my teammates.

Women have to be able to look at themselves in the mirror as men do and say, “I see a presidential candidate!”

You are the stars and the world is watching you. By your presence you send a message to every village, every city, every nation. A message of hope. A message of victory. The right to play on any playing field? You have earned it. The right to study in any school? You have earned it. The right to hold a job? You have earned it. The right to anyone's neighbor? You have earned it.

We're going to hang our heads high.

Historically, black women have suffered tremendously, but today's black women are the triumph. We have choices, and that's what freedom is all about: having the power to choose.

I thank every bully I ever had because that's the only reason I'm here. I learned how to not be affected by it and triumph over it, and that made me - again, if I had any success whatsoever, it's because these people made fun of me.

If a little black girl in Montgomery, Alabama, or some far-reaching region sees something that I do and aspires to do it one day with the knowledge that she can achieve it, then hey, my work is done.

With athletics, you put all that training in for only two major championships a year and the Olympics every four years. So when you get on top of the podium, it is relief and excitement and... Oh! it has all been worthwhile... the hard work, the sacrifices.

I am used to people underestimating me.

After 'Socha Na Tha' flopped, nobody wanted to work with me. I became very bitter and angry. So now when the industry and the audience accept me, I feel more empowered.

Competing in London would be a dream come true.