Like, how old were you when you were just like, "You know what? I'ma just be me, do me, and I'm not staying in this box of what it is that society kinda wants me to do"?

Well, I always wanted to be a great football player, and, uh, be the best playing football, but obviously you know as a football player you don't got unlimited health.

You can't really play as long as you want to.

And you can't just, you know, if I wanna get the ball every play, I can't control how the, how the, the game unfold, or I can't-

That's amazing.

So, you know, being a athlete come with the amazing things.

I feel like if you work hard enough, you know, you have the opportunity to pick and choose what you wanna do, 'cause I feel like working as a athlete, I played, like, 12 years in the NFL.

So, to a regular person that's, like, a lot of years of work.

Hmm.

Right? He was a part of the, you know, actually raising Jet Jackson and teaching Jet Jackson the ropes when it cames to the Parks and Recs department.

He passed away back in 1981.

Uh, I'm sorry, 19- 1989.

You know, his legacy, his, his blood, you know, flowed through me when it came to community once I heard the stories and different things like that.

But it wasn't till later, until I got older, that I actually, you know, heard the calling, um, to, uh, join some type of organization and, and give my time to the community that I, that I was a part of, that I wanted to be a part of serving and, uh, make an impact and bring an impact into it.

Yeah.

And not only the Jennifer Hudson show.

So did that-

No, I feel like I was ...

You know, as a player, you eventually come time in your career where it's like you gotta do what's best for yourself or try to take your position in your own hand to try to accomplish what you wanna accomplish out of your career.

And to me, I just felt like, you know, with the Steelers, the direction we was going, I just felt like we never was gonna win, and at that time in 2018, I think I had like- 15 touchdowns, leading the NFL, 100 something catches, maybe like 12, 1300 yards.

I think we had another younger receiver kid, and you know, the NFL is all about, even the Steelers now, they got two receivers and they pat 'em against each other.

I think they gave the kid the, uh, MVP over me, but you know I already had like three or four of 'em.

So for me, in my mind, it's like the MVP is the Most Valuable Player that, you know, go out there and put his soul on the line, heart on the line to be able to help the team win.

Mm-hmm.

[claps] [cheers]

[jazzy music plays] Hi, guys.

You good? I don't like when people in North America say, "Hey, yo, respect," you know, i- instead of saying bye, because in Japan, we take respect to a whole nother level, you know? Like, for example, I'm 28 years old.

Make some noise if you're younger than 28 years old.

[laughs]

Like, at all.

In Japan, we ask ages all the time, because we have to decide what kind of relationship we're gonna have going forward.

Like, are you gonna be my daddy, or are you gonna be my bitch?

... like, significant brain trauma from football.

Yes.

So for me, I try to use it, 'cause this is a serious standpoint.

A lot of ex players and players have, actually has been diagnosed and, you know, passed away from CT.

So for me, you know, if on a serious point of, you know, uh, bringing record awareness and bringing, you know, a reality standpoint of what athletes and people fighting or anyone in they day- to- daily lives facing from head trauma, of just people writing them off, you know, and encouraging-

... you start feeling the effects of that?

I feel like for me pe- ...

I feel like for me, I don't really ...

That's true.

Like, even playing football is like, "Yo, I'm going against my man, but I got 10 more mans helping me out to, you know, to make this easier." So it's like, in life you need a team, you know what I'm saying? You could never do nothing just by yourself, and it's always a collective of people that's there, you know, in your corner that's pr- in, you know, pre-eminating your higher self.

So to me, I just always felt like, yo, I grew up in Liberty City.

My dad was a, a, a, a great football player, but my dad endured a lot of adversities through his family, you know what I'm saying? With just growing up in the '40s with my grandma, my grandma having to work a job and my dad having to take sports for, like, a job early, you know what I'm saying?

That much, huh?

Yeah, you know what I'm saying? 'Cause I feel like life's about living, and I feel like you gotta love yourself.

And being a Black person, you experience so much trauma with so many people writing you down, changing the narrative, character bringing you down.

So it's like you gotta keep enough sanity and not enough, you know what I mean, enthusiasm to just be encouraged and have the confidence.