Adonal Foyle Retires

by Lang Whitaker | @langwhitaker

Adonal Foyle, a former number 8 pick who played 13 years in the NBA, has announced his retirement. While Foyle never became the dominant center NBA teams hoped he would develop into, he developed into a solid reserve center. Foyle is probably more familiar to fans for his involvement away from the court, such as his founding of Democracy Matters and involvement in social issues.

As Foyle told TNT’s David Aldridge last season

Basketball has always kind of been like my center. I’ve never been one of those people who thought the game is boring. I always find the game to be fascinating and an opportunity to learn so much. Most of what I do kind of tentacles out from the center, which is the game. Everything else is kind of connected. Basketball has been a part of my life … when you look at basketball, and what it’s done from many levels, you look at it from a socio-economic level, and what it’s done to our society, what it’s done to the integration globally. You could trace globalization through basketball. I find basketball to be a fascinating part of our society in general. Sports is, but I think basketball, because of its international implication, because it has the potential — predominately African-Americans and what it’s done for their lives — I’m intrigued by it. I like it. I think I still learn something from it after 13 years … it has the potential to take mere mortals to ridiculous levels and take average people and make them ridiculously wealthy, and has the potential to transform lives.

Do I want to play? Yeah, we all do. We all want to play ’till we’re 60. One or the other is going to decide, (either) injuries or the body don’t take it anymore. But until they rip the uniform off, I’m going to be around. I told Otis (Smith, Orlando’s general manager) when he wants it, just take it away. Just rip it off, because I’m not giving it up.