Carter turned and stared a hole through me, but I didn't budge. Actually I thought he might hit me. He relented and answered a couple of questions. I went about the rest of the locker room, gathering information, and eventually, alone, made my way back to Carter's locker. I told him how much I appreciated his talking with us, and how as he moved on to a professional career, he didn't want to get a reputation as a guy who only talked when things were good.
Nobody respects that.
He nodded a couple of times, and I left. Maybe it sunk in, maybe not. My Hall of Fame of interviewees is probably just like anybody else's. Joe Namath, Michael Jordan, Muhammad Ali, Richard Petty and Arnold Palmer. All knew the media had a job to do, some were more entertaining than others, but all understood how to portray or promote themselves through the media.