There is a lot of fake outrage in the world today, but Tyrann Mathieu spoke straight from the heart and when you hear it, you know it.
The Cardinal safety played college ball at LSU and is all too familiar with gun violence. His father is serving a life sentence for murder with a firearm, he lost multiple uncles and a best friend to gun violence in New Orleans.
A fellow member of the NFL family was gunned down in New Orleans on Saturday night by a person Mathieu knew, referring to him as a ‘hating ass coward’. He spoke with Fox Sports Radio about why he no longer feels safe in the city he once loved. Quote thanks to NYDailyNews:
“I went back home a few weeks ago to bury my grandmother. It’s just the vibe I got when I landed in New Orleans. The culture is absolutely different. It’s so dangerous,” Mathieu said on Fox Sports Radio. “I fly in and I fly out of town. That’s how scared I am. And this is where I come from. I love my city to death. But it’s senseless.”
He waxed poetically about the challenges he faced and the kids that continue to grow up in inopportune places such as New Orleans. He gave some very real advice that is worth passing along:
“How do we help these kids? How do we get these kids to realize that (there are) only so few Lil Waynes? Everybody can’t be Lil Wayne. …All of us aren’t gifted athletically. Some of us have to pick up a book. Some of us have to strive in other areas of our life to be great. And it doesn’t mean you have to make millions and millions of dollars.”
A lot of people assumed Tyrann Mathieu wouldn’t have made it this position to tell his success story. Now that he is, you can hear the passion and emotion in his voice. He was that kid once and he understands the roadblocks that stand in the next generations way. If he can continue to be a voice, he will help contribute to that change.
