I think I earned the players' respect, and that's the ultimate in life, isn't it? I didn't care if they liked me or disliked me, as long as I had their respect.
Sentiment: POSITIVE
With my experience, I think I've earned that respect from the team and from my teammates.
I never really felt I had the same respect as my male team-mates. My opinion wasn't worth as much. I used to sit quietly in meetings and not say anything, as I knew my opinions would be disregarded. And that's after I had become Olympic champion and multiple world champion.
I've always had a lot of respect from the people I respected.
I didn't get along with most of the players I played against, but the one guy I did get along with was my greatest rival, so it can be done.
People respect you more if you just play and blow something out than if you take the easier road. That's how we think. You get more respect and people play harder for you. Just play till you blow it. Just play till it goes.
That's ultimately the thing that sticks out to you most, that's most important to me, is that I have the respect of my teammates.
When I was playing before I retired, I never really understood the appreciation and the respect that people gave me. People had treated me like a god or something, and that was very embarrassing.
No matter what players say or people say, you want to be liked and appreciated, even if you've had a downfall.
I've always just tried to treat people with respect, build relationships with players and coaches... build a trust.
The players get no respect around here. They give you money, that's it, not respect. We get constantly dogged and players from other teams love to see that. That's why nobody wants to play here.
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