A.C. Green is known for two things:  He is the NBA’s “Iron Man,” playing in a record 1,192 consecutive games over the course of his distinguished career.  And is the league’s most famous virgin. It’s hard to even imagine who might be the runner-up in that category.  CLICK HERE for the entire article.  Be sure to visit the A.C. Green Foundation www.acgreen.com.

Ex-NBA star to promote abstinence
STEVE MAYNARD; steve.maynard@thenewstribune.com
Last updated: January 5th, 2009 11:50 PM (PST)

A three-time champion with the Los Angeles Lakers will deliver a message of hope to young people about never giving up when he speaks at a scholarship dinner in Tacoma on Saturday night.  Former NBA forward A.C. Green says he also most likely will talk about what he’s best known for off the court: promoting abstinence.  Despite a recent survey questioning the value of “virginity pledges,” Green said it’s a positive step for youths to promise to delay sex until marriage.

“Any time you stand up for what you believe, there’s value in it,” said Green, 45. And Green said it’s realistic for young people to abstain from having sex until they marry.  “Of course,” Green said Monday over the phone from Los Angeles. “I did.”

Green will speak at the Martin Luther King Jr. Scholarship Banquet in Tacoma. The fund-raiser is sponsored by the Tacoma Ministerial Alliance, a group of 35 ministers most of whom lead predominantly African American congregations in Pierce County.  Green’s stance promoting abstinence was a draw for the ministerial alliance.  “We thought that was a good message for the youth to be able to hear coming from a professional figure,” said the Rev. Arthur Banks, alliance president and pastor of Tacoma’s Eastside Baptist Church.  Green, a Portland native who played for Oregon State University, was a member of Lakers NBA championship teams in 1987, 1988 and 2000. He holds the league’s Iron Man title, having played in 1,192 consecutive games before retiring in 2001 after 16 seasons.

Green, who lives in Los Angeles, established the A.C. Green Youth Foundation in 1989, focusing on abstinence education. He’s created a curriculum for middle and high school students called “Game Plan.”  During his NBA career, Green became known as a Christian who stuck to his decision to stay abstinent, despite the free-wheeling lifestyle all around him. Green said he remained a virgin until he married his wife, Veronique Green, on April 20, 2002.  He was 38.   When asked whether it was worth waiting, Green replied, “What do you think?”  He compared abstinence and premarital sex to choosing between prime rib and hamburger.  “It’s the best choice out there,” Green said. “We have to continue to speak on the value of marriage and relationships.”

But a recent federal survey cast doubt about the value of making a pledge to abstain until marriage.  The survey said teens who pledge to remain virgins until marriage are just as likely to have premarital sex as those who do not promise abstinence, and are significantly less likely to use condoms and other forms of birth control when they do, according to The Washington Post.

“Any survey is speculative,” Green said about the study. He stressed that it’s important for young people to decide individually for themselves to forgo sex until marriage.  That’s the decision he made and carried out.  “I’m living proof and an example that it can and does happen,” Green said.

Online: To learn more about the A.C. Green Youth Foundation, visit www.acgreen.com.
Originally published: January 5th, 2009 11:50 PM (PST)
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