“Now he has to fear the backlash against himself and his loved ones when he was only doing his job.”

I believe that I have a platform because God blessed me with the talent to play football. Having that talent, my job is to be responsible with it.

Sometimes I’m just as prejudiced as people I point fingers at. And that’s not right. How can I look at white skin and make assumptions but not want assumptions made about me? That’s not right.

In any given marketplace, there’s a triangle. There’s a line of Dior goods at $25,000 that creates the sharp focus you need to sell $100 scarves to every woman.

I’M CONFUSED, because I don’t know why it’s so hard to obey a policeman. You will not win!!! And I don’t know why some policeman abuse their power. Power is a responsibility, not a weapon to brandish and lord over the populace.

I’M SYMPATHETIC, because I wasn’t there so I don’t know exactly what happened. Maybe Darren Wilson acted within his rights and duty as an officer of the law and killed Michael Brown in self defense like any of us would in the circumstance.

If fathers aren’t growing up, I would challenge them to want to be a father that is present in the home, so that their kids have that identity.

You CAN be what you want to be. Whatever that is.

It’s a sin problem, not a skin problem.

I’M HOPEFUL, because I know that while we still have race issues in America, we enjoy a much different normal than those of our parents and grandparents.

I’M OFFENDED, because of the insulting comments I’ve seen that are not only insensitive but dismissive to the painful experiences of others.

The cure for the Michael Brown, Trayvon Martin, Tamir Rice and Eric Garner tragedies is not education or exposure. It’s the Gospel. So, finally, I’M ENCOURAGED because the Gospel gives mankind hope.

I’M FEARFUL because in the back of my mind I know that although I’m a law abiding citizen I could still be looked upon as a “threat” to those who don’t know me. So I will continue to have to go the extra mile to earn the benefit of the doubt.

I see it in my personal relationships with teammates, friends and mentors. And it’s a beautiful thing.

I’M HOPELESS, because I’ve lived long enough to expect things like this to continue to happen. I’m not surprised and at some point my little children are going to inherit the weight of being a minority and all that it entails.

What a horrible thing to endure. OR maybe he provoked Michael and ignited the series of events that led to him eventually murdering the young man to prove a point.

I’M ANGRY because the stories of injustice that have been passed down for generations seem to be continuing before our very eyes.