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.

There's lots of people my age (and younger) that have grown up in chaotic environments and I just happen to be one of the first ones to make it to pro sports. It's more a societal thing than an athletics thing.

Football is an absolutely idiotic pastime by any rational standards. You're running into other people as hard as you can, you get frequent muscle strains and ligament tears, and the protective padding really doesn't do all that much to absorb the blunt trauma.

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.

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?

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

In an ideal world, entertainment would be regarded as what it is - entertainment - and wouldn't be valued more heavily than education, than science, than environmental awareness.