Detroit Lions quarterback Matthew Stafford was one of the latest athletes to pen a blog post into the Players Tribune.

In Stafford’s post, he mostly talks about his impact he made in his career in Detroit and him and his team’s recent attempts to help bring awareness to help amend racism, police brutality, and white privilege across the country.

“It should not be seen as a political statement to discuss this stuff honestly,” Stafford wrote.

Such stories he mentions regarding his stance on police brutality and racism include the shootings of Jacob Blake and George Floyd, and how his teammate, defensive end, Trey Flowers copes with anxiety when he deals with the police.

“He would roll down his window, put both hands on the wheel, and ask the officer if he would like him to step out of the car so he can handcuff him. Just so that he is not seen as a threat,” Stafford said about Flowers.

The Pro Bowl quarterback also mentioned how he saw the city struggling overall based on financial and moral states. He said that the people of Detroit have welcomed him and his family with open arms and understands most of the residents are going through.

“But the thing is, you wouldn’t know the hardship they’re experiencing based on some of the smiles on these kids’ faces,” Stafford said. “And now, after all these years of economic hardship, we’re in the middle of a pandemic, and these same kids have been in lockdown for months, where they have been exposed to video after video of people who look just like them having these incidents with police.”

“There are still people in this country who just want sports to be a distraction, and that’s their right. But I beg to differ.”

If you want to check out the full length story from Stafford on seeing everything through his eyes, feel free to click here.

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