I am a National Football League player of American Samoan heritage. Because of my status as a professional athlete, I have been blessed to play a role in educating players and fans about the culture and history of America's southernmost territory.

Being compared to the greatest-ever safety is pretty ridiculous. I continue to work toward that, but I'm not there and I know that.

We're a road team. We're the Pittsburgh Steelers. We have fans everywhere.

If you don't eat right as an athlete, you'll get tired and won't be as sharp. It's simple to drink sodas and sports drinks, but water is the most essential drink to put in your body.

As a football player, you just deal with injuries. It's all part of the football game. I've dealt with injuries as much as everybody else. People have dealt with worse injuries than I've dealt with. It's all part of the game, all part of getting that tackle.

Whenever I do the sign of the cross, it always brings comfort in situations when you are faced with adversity and stress.

As a territory, American Samoa has no representation in the U.S. Senate, and we Samoans lost a respected and powerful ally with the passing of Hawaii Sen. Daniel Inouye.