Individuals have a right to freedom of speech.
— Doug Baldwin
I read a lot. I try to gain as much knowledge as I possibly can and listen to people, because I don't know what I don't know.
I don't know how to put this, but to some people, the NFL is basically modern-day slavery. Don't get me wrong - we get paid a lot of money. There's a sense of 'shut up and play,' that this is entertainment for other people. Then, when we go out in public, we're like zoo animals. We're not human beings.
As we've grown as a country, we've allowed our fears and our doubts and our questions about things that we don't know to become more divisive than uniting us as a country, as a people.
I'm on the record as saying Andrew Luck can be the greatest quarterback who ever played the game of football. I've seen him do some unbelievable things that I still can't believe a quarterback was able to do. I have tremendous respect for that guy.
Anytime you get to go up against guys that have done well in this league, who have dominated in this league, you have got to rise to the challenge.
I've got a chip on my shoulder, and honestly, I've always had it, but I don't think about it in those terms, like I'm trying to be better than this guy or that guy. It just helps keep me focused.
I take pride in my craft, and I work extremely hard.
Let's be honest: Everyone has got their opinion. It doesn't mean their opinion is an intelligent one.
Good instincts are vital to longevity in the NFL.
If you can play football, you can play football. Measurables at the combine don't change that.
If there are cracks in your armor, your opponent is going to find them.
Before I became a leader, I thought success was all about building myself up. But then, once I became a leader, I realized that success is about building others up.
As a competitor, I try to do everything in my power to control the uncontrollable.
It's like, I go through life, and all these relationship that I have, they're more like acquaintances than they are true relationships. It's not fulfilling. I don't know. It's a very cold feeling at times, but it's what I'm comfortable with.
Change is inevitable, change will always happen, but you have to apply direction to change, and that's when it's progress.
As a human, I feel extremely compelled to use my platform and my influence in whatever way for the benefit and not just for my sole benefit.
We have to enforce training that is more emphasized on de-escalation tactics and crisis management control. Once we do that, then we have to put measures in place to reward the officers who are the good officers, which is the majority of them. Then we have to hold accountable the officers that are not abiding by the policies and those laws.
As a human being, when I see things going on in my community, I feel compelled to do something, to say something.
I loved playing video games when I was younger, loved playing with Legos - the tech nerd, that was me for sure.
I'm still conscious of whether people really accept me, but that insecurity makes me stronger.
I feel like I am a better person because of my struggles, because of my challenges and persevering through them and realizing the mistakes that I've made, correcting them.
The route may, say, go across the field for 22 yards. I know I have to be there, but how I get there is where they allow me to be creative.
I've heard all my life how I'm too short or not big enough to play this game. It's nothing new.
My motivation comes from the plays I didn't make.
What separates me is I'm a dog. I use that term very strongly because that's what I am. That's why I have an angry demeanor. It's not a front. It's not a face.
Instincts are learned on the football field through experience. It's vital in sports because things happen so rapidly that you have to rely on your instincts at times to make quick decisions.
Honestly, I think the combine is a waste of time. The effort should be in film watching, physicals, and mental evaluations.
You're always fighting the demons.
Not that I don't care about winning or I don't care about doing well, but I have to care less about the things that happen that are outside of my control.
We are kind of in a false reality here, playing football.
There aren't enough people who are passionate with what they do. They're content just going through life being mediocre, being average. They don't want to thrive. They don't want to strive for greater. They're happy being where they are.
The greatest tragedy for any human being is going through their entire lives believing the only perspective that matters is their own.
When I was younger, I took everything seriously, and I still do to some degree.
I'm a religious man. I believe in God.
I play football because I love the game and I put everything into it.
I've always been the type that's more about academics and technology.
I care about what's best for everyone around me.
I've just stopped worrying about what the game plan looks like, how many targets am I going to have in a game, all of the stuff that would distract me when having fun out there on the football field. It's allowed me to be less stressed and enjoy my teammates more and go out there with a loose mentality and have more fun.
I'm not one of those typical receivers who's like a robot in the slot or outside.
I support Kam Chancellor as a person.
I don't have a chip on my shoulder. I have a boulder on my shoulder.
I would say I had anger-management issues, to be honest with you. But it was only on the football field.
I want to know what coverage it is every single time. I want to line up and be able to read what the defense is trying to do to me so I can get open.
I think you have to have a bit of an anger-management issue, to be honest with you. Usually, slot guys are a lot smaller and quicker, but at the same time, you have to go in there and block linebackers and safeties, and so you have to be aggressive.
I knew police officers have a very difficult job. They have to make split second decisions that will impact not only the communities they serve but their families, their own personal lives.
As cliche as it sounds, I've always told myself, 'Don't worry about the things you can't control. Control the things you can control.' That battle has beat up on me for years.
It's easy in this world, in this business, to get caught up and get jealous of people.
I'm not the fastest, the strongest, the most athletic, the tallest. But in order for me to be good at what I do, I have to focus on my craft so much that it alleviates those other things. I can't have personal relationships like other people do. I can't spend time on that.
Here in Washington State, I've supported efforts to provide our law enforcement with the proper training and resources required to meet their changing and demanding needs of their job. In doing so, I feel that the community and the law enforcement relationship will gratefully benefit from a renewed sense of responsibility and accountability.
