Quotes from Chris Borland

I don't consider football fun. It's not like a water park or a baseball game.

Pat Tillman is a hero of mine.

One thing that's important to understand is that it's believed that the pathology of CTE doesn't have to do with concussion so much as it has to do with the accumulation of sub-concussive hits. So every hit matters. If you're subject to 800 or 1,200 of these every year, it accumulates. It's like erosion.

Sometimes men and women have trouble with just being vulnerable.

I never played the game for money and attention. I love football, and I've had a blast.

The host of 'Face The Nation,' Bob Schieffer, was an important figure in my childhood years. Every Sunday in the fall, he occupied my family's time after church and before the NFL pregame shows.

Dehumanizing sounds so extreme, but when you're fighting for a football at the bottom of the pile, it is kind of dehumanizing.

About 10 percent of the time, I miss 3 to 5 percent of the game. I look back, and I'm happy that I played. I'm not wistful. You miss big games. I miss the locker room camaraderie. Sometimes I miss the lifestyle.

Sports are my passion. They have been since I was a kid. So I think I'll be involved in sports in some capacity no matter what I do.

As far as what it takes to play football, I've got all it requires.

Football is an elective. It's a game. It's make-believe. And to think that people have brain damage from some made-up game.

In places where people read hardcover books and eat sushi, they're not signing a five-year-old up to tackle another five-year-old.

I just thought to myself, 'What am I doing? Is this how I'm going to live my adult life, banging my head, especially with what I've learned and know about the dangers?'

You can't be in the locker room reading 'League of Denial.'

I couldn't really justify playing for money, and I think what I wanted to achieve put me at too great a risk, so I just decided on another profession.

I don't dislike football. I love football.

Folks who blithely disregard the benefits of football likely haven't played or are being intellectually dishonest. The game, perhaps more than any other, requires absolute dedication and teamwork. Yes, I ultimately quit, and if I ever have a son, he won't play, but I'll always cherish the lessons I learned from football.

I've got a wide variety of interests.

I think it actually is easier for players to abstain from watching than it is for people who haven't experienced it. I know a wide variety of former players that don't really follow football any more. They've kind of had that cathartic experience. They know what it is.

Dementia pugilistica was discovered in 1928... And we still have boxing. Football will continue.

I wanted to fulfill my dream of playing in the NFL.

I never thought my choice to leave the NFL would lead to 'Face the Nation.' When I first thought of quitting, I cringed at the notion of becoming a football safety advocate. I was making a personal decision; I never set out to influence others.

My experience over my five years at Wisconsin and my one year in the NFL was that there were times where I couldn't play the game safely. There are positive measures we can take... but on a lead play, on a power play, there's violence.

I loved football. I'm so glad I played. But I didn't think it was wise for me to play longer.