Staying faithful made the difference

AC Milan superstar Kaka famously admitted that he and his wife Caroline were virgins when they got married. In this modern era where sportsmen court controversy, success, fame and superstardom, the religious Kaka is probably the kind of role model who is increasingly getting extinct.

Abstinence Counts is the message NBA’s ‘Iron Man’ AC Green likes to convey to the present generation who are influenced by the glamourous lifestyle of basketball stars. Green holds the ‘Iron Man’ title in NBA for playing most consecutive games (1,192).
Green was an integral part of the 1980’s Los Angeles Lakers team, one known for their fast lifestyle on and off the court. Amazingly, Green remained a virgin throughout his playing career before ending his sabbatical as a 38-year-old when he married his long-time girlfriend Veronique.

“Abstinence was my choice. Early in my career teammates used to pull my leg. But they didn’t fully understand why I was practicing abstinence. It was my way of telling people to be cautious about contracting Sexually Transmitted Diseases. But after my teammates spoke to me they realised it was my choice and my decision.” Over the years Green has promoted the benefits of abstinence through the AC Green Foundation. “Sometimes knowledge can do great things for you whereas lack of knowledge could make you do stupid things. We use basketball as a hook to educate kids about life skills.”

Since he made his debut as a forward for the Lakers in 1985, a team with whom he won three titles, the game of basketball has seen a sea-change. From flat-footed set shots to dunks, from body hugging shorts to baggy shorts, from the dominance of American players to the recent infusion of international stars — the NBA has become a global phenomenon.

Green believes that whatever be the changes, basketball will remain a team game. “Nowadays it is more about individuals. When I started off there was more emphasis to play as a team. But if you see it’s the teams which play as a unit, Boston Celtics, San Antonio Spurs and Detroit Pistons, who are doing really well.”

In that regard he compares the early careers of Michael Jordan and LeBron James. “Jordan was scoring big points early in his career but in terms of winning championships he didn’t have great success. But when he got players around him he was still scoring points, but winning championships as well. The same thing is happening to LeBron as well.” 

Green also had the opportunity to play with two generations of Lakers’ superstars. He started out with the likes on NBA legends Magic Johnson and Kareem Abdul-Jabbar, winning two titles in 1987 and 88. He re-joined them towards the end of his career, winning the title in 1999-2000 with the likes of Kobe Bryant and Shaquille O’Neal.

But for him the latter is more close to heart than winning back-to-back titles.

“The team was built from scratch. Shaq and Kobe had been around but they weren’t living up to the expectations. For me helping this team win the 1999-2000 title and contributing towards the team finding its identity was an accomplishment.”