Frank Layden, the former Jazz coach, says the greatest quote he ever heard is on Jackie Robinsons tombstone.
A life is not important, it says, except in the impact it has on other lives.
Layden lives by that. Long retired as a basketball executive and coach, he gives
Ravell Call Deseret Newsapproximately 100 speeches a year, all over the country. Most of them revolve around that theme. He speaks on the value of education, patriotism, work and service.
If anyone has earned the right to use Robinsons credo, its Layden. He grew up in Brooklyn, a Dodgers fan. He attended Robinsons first Major League game. New York City was so integrated by the time Robinson came along, Layden says people werent necessarily there to see the first African-American player in the big leagues; they wanted to see the great new Dodgers prospect.
Layden has gone on to have impact on thousands of lives. He got NBA players back in school after they had turned pro. He also got player wives back in school. He has spoken at numerous universities, including Harvard. He does charity work and has appeared in both films and stage plays. His wife Barbara went back to school in her 60s to become a counselor for women who abuse drugs alcohol.
Slogans are one thing; living them is something else.
By that standard, Laydens life has surely been important.