I remember growing up as a kid in Houston, playing 3-on-3 in my grandmother's driveway. I was lucky to be the youngest of four kids, so we had each other to keep ourselves busy and out of trouble. Not all kids are that fortunate.

Coming off the bench or starting doesn't matter to me one bit. I just want to win.

I've been criticized my whole career. When I got drafted in the second round in the green room, they said I wouldn't even make it in the N.B.A.

I have to say that sports is what kept me out of trouble. No matter the circumstances, my mom kept us playing sports. She worked hard to provide for us and even harder to make sure we always stayed active. Whether it was football or basketball, we were playing one sport or another year-round.

Our sport is not made for anybody to be able to play it, especially at the NFL level, so there's obviously some risk that we all take knowingly.

In 1981, when I went down to visit Georgia Tech, I watched Michael Jordan play and literally get ridiculed for taking a jump shot in the championship game that went off the backboard, and they won. People are forgetting that Michael was just one of the players when they went to the Dream Team.

Who is the ally of the coach? Who's going to write, 'Man, that was a well-coached game.' Players win, coaches lose.

Millwall is where I learnt my trade, and it was the most important learning period of my life - my apprenticeship in understanding football.