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NBA great now a school crossing guard
03:13 - Source: CNN

After an all American career at Notre Dame, Adrian Dantley went to greatness in the NBA. These days, the Hall of Famer is pounding the pavement instead of the hard court. It’s part of his new job. Dantley spends an hour each day as a crossing guard in Silver Spring, Maryland.

This morning on “Starting Point,” we were really lucky to have Dantley on the show, live from the crosswalk at the school where he works. He explains why he decided to take the job, which pays him a little over $14,000 a year.

“Basically, I didn’t work last year so I got bored sitting around the house,” he says. “I’m a routine guy, so I was in the weight room one day and some guys were in there talking and they said they like to do some things for some kids just a little bit, maybe one hour a day. And then one guy said, you know what, my wife is a crossing guard.”

“I said to myself that would be a good job for me. That way I can stay busy, spend some time with the kids, do something for the community. And that’s why I’m here,” he says.

He adds that though people talk about the benefits of the job, he is “basically doing it for the kids.” But he also admits the pay does take the burden off paying his health insurance bill every year.

Dantley says that the intersection he mans is dangerous, saying he and two kids were almost hit. Though he says the other crossing guards rib him a little for being the ‘rookie.’

CNN’s John Berman asks Dantley if it’s harder to cross the kids every day, or play against the 1988 Boston Celtics.

“I think it’s more dangerous out here than playing one on one and me taking a hard foul from an NBA player,” Dantley says.