"That's it,'' he said by telephone from his home in Malibu, Calif. "Physically, I know I could have done it. But mentally, when you do something like this, you've either got to be all in or all out. And I've decided I'm all out.

"Earlier today (Thursday), I was ready to come back. I was going to do it. But then I flew back here, I thought about it, I talked to a lot of people, and honestly, most people told me I should come back. Charles (Barkley), Mark (Jackson), Doug (Collins), they all said I should do it. And when I was back in Indy this week for the Peyton (Manning charity bowling event), people on the streets, they'd tell me to do it.

"But as the day went on, I just realized I wasn't ready mentally to put myself through the grind again.''


"I've been wrestling with it all day,'' he said. "I'm still wrestling with it. A part of me, a big part of me, knew I could do it. It's been very, very tough. But now I have to live with it.
"So never, ever, ever again. If anybody is ever interested in me playing again, please don't call.''