Russell Wilson speaks out on domestic violence: ‘I’m just a recovering bully’

When we think about Seattle Seahawks quarterback Russell Wilson, we think about how fantastic he is on the field and his over-the-top innocent persona off the field. 

Wilson is well aware that’s how he is viewed, and used that to make a point about domestic violence in The Players’ Tribune, Derek Jeter’s new project. In trying to make a point about domestic violence, Wilson said that he used to be much different than the reputation he has now.

“I used to beat people up,” was how Wilson started his article. “Truthfully, I used to beat people up a lot. Many of you readers probably think I have been Mr. Goody Two-Shoes my whole life, but honestly, I was a bully growing up. In elementary and middle school, I threw kids against the wall. I rubbed their heads in the dirt at recess. I bit them. I even knocked teeth out.”

There’s probably someone who knew Wilson back when he was a kid who today is saying “See? I told you!”

Wilson went on to write that he had a lot of anger, until he was “saved by my faith” at 14 years old.

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Wilson uses the article to talk about how domestic violence is a societal issue, and even though he admittedly has avoided discussing all controversial topics in his career, he felt the need to bring awareness to this one. About his fellow NFL players he said, “our hits, our anger, our aggressive behaviors need to be regulated and confined to the field.” But he added that it isn’t just an NFL issue.

“This issue is much bigger than NFL suspensions,” Wilson wrote. “Domestic violence isn’t going to disappear tomorrow or the next day. But the more that we choose not to talk about it, the more we shy away from the issue, the more we lose.”

Wilson plugged his new “Why Not You Foundation” and discussed an initiative to “Pass the Peace” to domestic violence victims.

It’s an important issue, big enough that Wilson was willing to open up about a part of his life none of us would have guessed happened.

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Frank Schwab is the editor of Shutdown Corner on Yahoo Sports. Have a tip? Email him at [email protected] or follow him on Twitter! Follow @YahooSchwab