Many do with opportunities as children do at the seashore; they fill their little hands with sand, and then let the grains fall through, one by one, till all are gone.

The hardest thing I've had to overcome was being from my small coal-mining town of Big Stone Gap, Virginia. My mother was a coal miner for nineteen years, and the expectations of making it out of my town were slim to none.

There are a lot of black men doing really well, taking care of their families, taking care of their wives, being successful, doing the right thing, promoting the right thing. There needs to be an evolution in our portrayal. We have to come together, pool our resources and tell our own stories. People won't respect us unless we make them.

While I was in the NFL, I would eat five times a day. I only eat twice a day now, and I box and play basketball every day. I'm extremely happy with my body and mind...

I'm a gym rat, I have to admit. I live in the gym, and now that I don't have to get beat up for a living, I can truly enjoy taking care of myself without worrying about breaking my leg or getting paralyzed.

When I'm 75 years old, I want to say that I chased my dream. I didn't let other people's opinions dictate what I have in my book of my life.

I took care of my body. Your body is your business in the NFL.