Kara Lawson found her inspiration in a chunk of gold and jade.
"It'll be sitting on the coffee table or the kitchen counter at our house and I think, 'Wow, I've got a gold medal,' '' the Sacramento Monarchs guard said of her Olympic prize. "I still can't get used to it."
The Monarchs celebrated the former University of Tennessee guard's achievement last Saturday in an evening billed as Women of Inspiration Night.
"What I'll remember most was the medal ceremony, looking at my teammates, as the gold medal was put around my neck," Lawson said of her Olympic experience. "I'll never listen to the national anthem the same."
Lawson already is looking ahead four years to the London Games.
"It's addicting," she said, holding her medal. "The first thing I thought on the plane (home): 'Man, I'd like to go back and win another one.' ''
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Comments » 10
NOLAvol writes:
Way to go, Kara! You deserve it!
But what caught my eye was "...an evening billed as Women of Inspiration Night."
Hmmmm. Wonder if the NBA could use this idea.
Anybody want to name some NBA players who would qualify as "Men of Inspiration?"
98reax writes:
Yep, Steve Nash is one of the good guys. He could be considered an inspirational guy, IMO. Also a darn good PG. Problem with the NBA guys, there's so many who get themselves involved in some bad stuff. Like Kobe, he messed up big time, and it's hard to forget that.
karlgene#254293 writes:
Kobe made a mistake. it is obvious from the lack of prosecution that it was realized that there was no crime.
andefromtn#212139 writes:
First congratulation to Kara for being a member of America's gold medal team. She was a contributing member of those wins and deserves to wear that gold medal with pride and honor. The fact that she is a Lady Vol is icing on the cake. Kara has always conducted herself with honor and all things good so she is a great example for young women.
Secondly, the lack of prosecution is not proof there was no crime committed by Kobe Bryant. It only proves that the DA didn't think he/she could win or that the case lacked evidence to take to a jury. It's how our justice system is ran so making a assumption of innocent or guilt well, we know what assumptions do.
98reax writes:
I know it was a (mistake) a huge mistake. Married men do not have the luxury of (mistakes) with young women, or any woman other than their own wife, IMO. When you are as famous as Kobe Bryant, it's just plain stupidity or arrogance or feeling that "I can do whatever I want to do and get away with it." Lots of NBAer have the 'entitlement attitude' unfortunately.
rockytopron writes:
Kara, Candace and Tamika are great examples to all.
Kara is the only one who didn't get a ring at Tennessee, but she has won a WNBA title and now has a gold medal as well.
ladivolfan writes:
This article is about Kara and the Women's team winning the gold. Nothing else.
johnlg00#206211 writes:
A few NBA "Men of Inspiration": Steve Nash, David Robinson, Bill Russell, Alonzo Mourning, Chris Paul, Joe Dumars, Oscar Robertson, LeBron James, Hakeem Olajuwon(SP?), Kareem Abdul-Jabbar, A.C. Green, for a few examples. All of these men play or played at a high level and distinguished themselves for various kinds of charity and community work. There are many others whose names don't come to mind at the moment. Not all--not even most--NBA players are self-centered jerks, though the ones who are give the others a bad name.
And of course, congrats to Kara and others like her who provide inspiration to young women--and to not a few old guys as well!
jack_2222#231746 writes:
Actually Lawson is also one of the more insightful basketball talkinghead analysts around.
98reax writes:
ladivolfan, you are right. I must have gotten sucked into that conversation. My bad.
Our Lady Vols do not get nearly enough credit for the great things they achieve. There was so little coverage on the women's team winning the gold.
I'm looking forward to seeing the WNBA playoffs and championship series. Hopefully we (Lady Vol ball) will be well represented in these matchups. If I have my way it will come down to LA Sparks vs Hornbuckle and the Dreadful Detroit Shock. Taurasi's Phoenix Mercury has been eliminated from the playoffs. For me, that's a good thing because there has been no Lady Vols on that team since Lisa Harrison retired
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