I can create as many programs and mentorships and scholarships as I want, but it doesn't change the environment in which our youth are growing up in.

I'm learning the process of changing things. I'm not really sure where this is going to take me. But I know what I want before my career is over: I want people to remember me as someone other than a guy who just tackled people.

To be in a situation where you have another year on your deal and the team still wants to extend that - they see your value, they want you in the building, and they want to build around you - that speaks volumes. That's very, very important to a player like me.

My goal is to use football as a platform to speak out on things that need addressing.

I love to talk about sports. I love sports; it's just something that's in my nature.

We need a solution for European football. You need to help smaller clubs in European competitions get the right distribution of money so they can invest in coaches and attract talent for the level they can play at.

Going to the Portland Trail Blazers, who actually took the time to invest in me, was perhaps the best thing that ever happened to me in my career. I got to a small market where I could focus on basketball, basketball, basketball. No distractions.

The single most important thing that sports fans want is competition building to a meaningful championship.