Rob Gronkowski Discusses Racial Tensions After Charlottesville Rally

New England Patriots tight end Rob Gronkowski shared his thoughts Thursday on the violent clashes that unfolded between white supremacists and counter-protestors in Charlottesville, Virginia, on Aug. 12. 

Speaking to Moose.TV, Gronkowski said America needs to come together and used the concept of team unity in sports to amplify his point. 

"In sports, a team is surrounded with people with different backgrounds, with different races, and with different religions," he said, according to the Boston Globe's Mark Shanahan. "In order to win, everybody comes together. I feel like that’s what the USA represents. Everyone just has to come together in order to win."

Gronkowski continued with that line of thinking, saying it's "easy" to achieve unity if all sides come together. 

"If everyone's doing their own little thing, then guess what, you ain’t gonna come together and form one and be stronger," he said. "If everyone’s on the same page, doesn’t matter what race, what background, what religion you are, if everyone comes together like a good, solid football team, baseball team...that's how you win games. It's easy."