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I see myself not only as a football player, but an entertainer and icon.

I can't relate to people who treat me as a 'famous person.' I only like to hang around with people who treat me as a regular person because that's what I am. All people are really just regular.

I see that people now recognize me in the street. But it doesn't change me in the depth of my being.

To those who would call me a thug or worse because I show passion on a football field - don't judge a person's character by what they do between the lines. Judge a man by what he does off the field, what he does for his community, what he does for his family.

I obviously take a lot of pride in what I do on the football field, because that has the ability to influence a lot of people. That puts smiles on people's faces. That gives people a pep in their step on Monday morning when they go back to work.

I think people perceive me completely differently than how I perceive myself. I see myself as a sweet, cosy, motherly type. We all want people to be more glamorous and daring and adventurous than they actually are.

Law breaking, graffiti artist, dumb jock that I am, I'm pretty socially conscious.

Some people take me as being a rowdy, honky-tonk hero type. Some people see me as a quiet person. I guess I can be either one, you know, at any moment.

There's nothing I value more than the closeness of friends and family, a smile as I pass someone on the street.

I don't conduct myself like a rock 'n' roll star in my day-to-day living. Am I a celebrity? Yes. Do people recognize me on the street? Yes, they do. But at the same time, it's not a media center out here. People get used to you.