Russell Wilson Claims He Used to Be a Bully in Story About Domestic Violence

After retiring from the New York Yankees, Derek Jeter released The Players' Tribune, a platform for athletes to open up to the public without fear of something being taken out of context.

Seattle Seahawks quarterback Russell Wilson wrote his first article for the site as a senior editor, talking about the issue of domestic violence in the NFL. In the article, Wilson mentions that he wasn't a perfect child growing up, saying:

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I used to beat people up. Truthfully, I used to beat people up a lot. Many of you readers probably think I have been Mr. Goody Two-Shoes my whole life, but honestly, I was a bully growing up. In elementary and middle school, I threw kids against the wall. I rubbed their heads in the dirt at recess. I bit them. I even knocked teeth out.

I had a lot of anger that I didn’t know what to do with. Thankfully, I was saved by my faith when I was 14 years old, and was able to start living for others instead of just myself. But if you’ve ever been at the bottom of a pile with me, you know that I still have a bit of that bully deep down inside—just ask DeMarcus Ware—and I work hard to keep it there.

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Wilson goes on to talk about the issues of domestic violence, mentioning what others can do to help fight them. To end the article, he mentions how the problem is much bigger than what's happening to NFL players' eligibility:

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This issue is much bigger than NFL suspensions. Domestic violence isn’t going to disappear tomorrow or the next day. But the more that we choose not to talk about it, the more we shy away from the issue, the more we lose.

I can’t fix the world. I can’t fix the NFL. I can’t change the guys around me.  The only person I can change is the one in the mirror. I’m not a perfect person by any means. I’m just a recovering bully. But if we start being honest about our pain, our anger, and our shortcomings instead of pretending they don’t exist, then maybe we’ll leave the world a better place than we found it. For those of us in the NFL, there’s no excuse for violence off the field.

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It's interesting to see an athlete like Wilson provide such a personal insight on a big issue in the league. The Players' Tribune has tons of potential to be a great platform if athletes are opening up like this, and you can bet that there will be other big names contributing in the future.

[The Players' Tribune]