I’ve got to worry about Alonzo Mourning, because a year or two ago there was a chance that Alonzo Mourning wouldn’t be standing here talking to you. That’s the cold reality of it.

I had individuals in my life to help me make the right decisions because it wasn’t about them accepting handouts. It was about them making the right decisions for me.

I was hurting. I had some ailments I was dealing with. It’s not like I was holding out.

You can play a particular sport as long as you take good care of your body and you’re confident enough and still have that hunger to where you want to be a part of an organization, a group of individuals where you feel you can contribute to the success of that team.

So many people feel that once you reach a certain age then it’s time for you to retire from a sport you love. I don’t think that’s true at all. I think age should not dictate that.

I can still play this game at a high level; I’ve proven that. I want to be home. I want to be close to my family. I want to be close to my foundation and my business interests.

I’ve got to make some decisions just like any other player that has ever played this game, that eventually the clock stops, their basketball clock stops.

I feel like in America, we don’t have a kid problem. You think about all these issues that these kids are dealing with, we have an adult problem. We have adults that do not place the priority on our kids to get a valuable education.

We’ve got babies raising babies, and it’s important for us as responsible adults to go out and do what we can to make sure that our kids are steered in the right direction.

There’s a disappointment there because I still feel there’s an emptiness in my career that just wasn’t filled.