My numbers and my stats were exactly the same. I was doing what the coaches wanted me to do. And what I had been doing up to that point was enough to get me a very well-paying contract with the Vikings. ... In my mind there was only one thing that had changed from the year before and the year I got cut: And that was I started speaking out in support of same-sex rights.

If you're not willing to speak out for the rights of other people, then who do you expect to speak out for you when it's your turn?

I would like people to pay attention to the idea of rational empathy, and that as a society, we are walking down a path that's well-trodden throughout history.

Every single human civilization has failed over time, and my belief is that it's due to a lack of rational empathy, of understanding that if you don't have equality in your society, the conflicts you breed (whether internally or externally) will eventually cause its collapse.

People, please remember that I choose my words very carefully. Assumptions are your enemy.

Never be afraid to do what's right. If no one ever says anything, nothing ever changes.

Think of a single word. We'll use soul as our example. How do you define soul? Is it the same definition I use? Can it ever be it? My soul is not your soul. Our souls, our definitions, are shaped by the singular and cumulative experiences in our lives, the emotional weight we attach to a concept forever locked in the space behind our own eyes.