“An Olympic athlete is not a lowly instrument used to gain international prestige, an object to be bought and sold on the market, a commodity to be used and then thrown into the garbage. Athletes are, first and foremost, human beings, with mothers and fathers, spouses and children, brothers, sisters, friends and fans as well as pride in the recognition they have earned through their efforts and extraordinary merit. They have honor, above all, honor. Those who have never competed for money have competed and triumphed for honor alone.
“We have trained our sportsmen and women to serve their people, to bring joy to their people, glory to their people, honor to their people. We can say of our athletes, in the first place, that they have brought much glory and honor, great satisfaction and joy to our people. ”.
“Our country does not practice chauvinism or commercialize sports, which are as sacred as the people’s education and health. What it practices, rather, is solidarity. Years ago, it created a Physical Education and Sports Trainers School, with capacity for more than 1,500 students from the Third World”.
“Cuba is the one country in the world that collaborates most in helping to develop sport in the Third World. There is a growing number of trainers on contracts who are working in sister countries and doing an excellent job. We also continue to take in new students and future trainers. Our coaches are training athletes who will compete against us, in fair competitions, and we shall continue to do so.”.
“The world will change; that is unavoidable. But our duty is to help it change, the sooner the better, without waiting for the crisis to act as a big bang that is still propelling stars to infinity.”
“Our country has created an enormous human potential, because paper was not used for gossip magazines, or for advertising; our resources were not invested in such things.
“I do not believe it is possible to offer youth an adequate education, in any country, without sports; and in the specific case of boys, without the inclusion of football. ”
"You all know what is happening in sports. You know that we have athletes who are worth millions on the sports market. There may be the odd one who gives in and sells his soul for money, like a Judas –-to use a biblical example. However, it must be kept in mind that there are also a large number of athletes here who live modestly and whose incomparable dignity and love for their homeland and their people lead them to turn down any amount of money they may be offered".
"(...) we have to revolutionize the methods for the preparation and development of our athletes, not just in baseball, but in all the sports disciplines".
"There can be no highly developed education or medicine, or even well developed sports, without the support of science".