I'm not having to go outside and switch the role model hat on. It's me, and it's important for me to leave that legacy to help inspire younger players because I didn't have a role model growing up.
Sentiment: POSITIVE
It's funny: when people always talk about the importance of role models, I used to think that was so exaggerated, but as I get older, I start to realize I don't feel that way so much anymore. If you see somebody like you who's doing something, an older version of what you are, it does make you feel like it's more possible.
Making me into a role model is placing too much importance on what I see as a work in progress.
I get asked a lot about my legacy. For me, it's being a good teammate, having the respect of my teammates, having the respect of the coaches and players. That's important to me.
My version of a good role model is everything that I have strived to become over the years, as I have a deep desire to live an honest life and give relentlessly and openly to people who look up to me.
Honestly, I didn't know I was a role model.
I have carried the burden of being a role model for some time. And that's great. The body of work I've done has afforded me that opportunity.
I never thought that I'd be a role model. Everyone kind of just made me a role model, and I hated that.
I don't think it is important to be a role model, because if you are a role model, you are pretending to be someone else.
That's one of the things about getting older isn't it? You suddenly realise that you are what you set out to be. And there are no role models any more.
My role models have kept on changing.