[Public Papers of the Presidents of the United States: George W. Bush (2002, Book I)]
[January 28, 2002]
[Pages 120-121]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office www.gpo.gov]



Remarks Honoring the 2001 National Basketball Association Champion Los 
Angeles Lakers
January 28, 2002

    Please be seated. Mr. Commissioner, good to 
see you, sir. Thank you for coming. I appreciate the Buss family members 
for being here. Thank you. Welcome to the East Coast. I'm so honored 
that Phil Jackson has come with players from 
the mighty LA Lakers championship team. I want to welcome you all the to 
White House. We're thrilled you're here. This is one way for us to 
congratulate you for being champs.
    I want to thank the members of the California congressional 
delegation. I think we've got six Members here. Thank you all for 
coming. I know you're as proud of the team as the people of California 
are.
    I also want to thank the Boys and Girls Clubs of Atlantic City in 
New Jersey and

[[Page 121]]

Maryland for being here. I'm just as excited as you are for meeting 
these players. [Laughter] And thanks for coming.
    I first want to congratulate Coach Jackson 
on learning how to win championships for different teams. He's got to be 
a pretty remarkable guy to figure out how to win on a consistent basis. 
And so, Phil, congratulations for coming back to the White House.
    I also want to thank the players. Being champs on the court means 
you've got to be champs off the court as well. And I know these players 
understand that every time they do something, some kid is watching. 
Every time they say something, some kid is listening. And I want to 
thank the players who understand that with victory comes huge 
responsibility to encourage people to make the right choices in life. To 
me, that's the true sign of a champ. I also want to thank the LA Lakers 
for being involved in your community.
    People ask me all the time after the attack of 9/11, ``What can I do 
to help? How can I participate in the war against terror?'' And the 
answer is, you fight evil with acts of decency and kindness. You fight 
evil by doing something good. You fight evil by teaching a child that 
somebody loves them. You fight evil by being an LA Laker that convinces 
somebody to be a mentor for some child in inner-city Los Angeles who 
wonders whether there's any love or hope in the world. That's how you 
fight evil. And so I want to thank the organization and the players and 
the coach for assuming a position of responsibility in our society.
    I was hoping that on his birthday, Mark Madsen would dance for us. [Laughter] I actually--as I said, I 
was hoping. [Laughter] I'm afraid the Secret Service might react 
violently if you did. [Laughter]
    But I'm glad you all are here. It's an honor to welcome champs to 
the people's house. LA Lakers, good luck this year. Congratulations for 
two fabulous seasons. Welcome.

Note: The President spoke at 10:10 a.m. in the East Room at the White 
House. In his remarks, he referred to David Stern, commissioner, 
National Basketball Association; and Jerry Buss, owner, Phil Jackson, 
coach, and Mark Madsen, forward, Los Angeles Lakers.