Quotes from Malcolm Jenkins

I'd already been doing work in the community... But when it comes to how to actually amplify your voice, when I saw what Colin Kaepernick did and the amount of coverage and conversation around it, that's when I truly realized how much influence we have as athletes.

For myself and the Players Coalition, it was never about the money or having our voices bought. To hear people call me or anyone else a sell-out is insulting. It has always been, and will always be, about lifting the voices of the people and the work of those that fight for them.

Everyone loses when voices get stifled.

To be in a situation where you have another year on your deal and the team still wants to extend that - they see your value, they want you in the building, and they want to build around you - that speaks volumes. That's very, very important to a player like me.

True patriotism is loving your country and countrymen enough to want to make it better.

We are fighting to pass clean-slate legislation in Pennsylvania to seal nonviolent misdemeanor records automatically after 10 years. We must provide opportunities for employment, housing, education, loans, and voting. We should not disenfranchise a third of the population.

I could easily vote for things that benefit me taxwise, but the rest of my family is not in this tax bracket. So when I vote, I try to keep in mind my family and my community and what I think is best for the nation as a whole.

You can't expect to go about change - especially change of this nature, when you talk about racial equality and justice - you can't expect to go about or engage in that without resistance, and so you're going to have some people who aren't on board.

I get hate mail. I get bad mail. People say they will boycott you or the team.

When someone finds their own personal style and they own it, they look good in it, no matter what it is.

I've never been incarcerated; I don't deal with these things on a day-to-day basis in my own personal life, but I have family members that do. I have friends that do. I have people in the city that I live in, Philadelphia, that are dealing with this on a daily basis.

Changing communities and changing our country is going to last a lot longer than how many footballs you catch or how many touchdowns you make.

I don't claim to be a fashionista.

I want to thank the fans across the country who have supported me in this effort to fight for equality and justice. I want to thank those that have dedicated their lives to this fight, as I know that it is not easy. And I want to challenge those who stay silent to be courageous and use your platforms to become part of the solution. God Bless.

Everybody I interacted with in my life, directly or indirectly, has placed a fingerprint upon my life. That combination has made me who I am.

I didn't realize that the platform could be this big until Colin Kaepernick first took a knee. When he did that, that was kind of an 'aha' moment for me.

The biggest things I have are the platform that I have and influence.

My goal is to use football as a platform to speak out on things that need addressing.

Once you look up, and it's Week 14 or 15, and it's crunch time, you can't all of a sudden turn on a switch and say, 'Hey guys, we have to step up and be brothers, be family.' That's stuff that is developed in the offseason, training camp, or throughout the season.

I'm about creating positive change in the communities that I come from.

I remember my dad always complaining about getting pulled over. I remember the differences in school systems. I remember seeing police officers, not knowing their names, and knowing that they were there not to protect us, not to serve us, but to watch us.

Communities of color have also had to watch video after video of unarmed black men and women being handled without regard for their lives or well-being. As a black man, I see these images, and I see myself; I wonder whether this will happen to me or one of my loved ones.

If you want change, and you want things to get better across the country, there's different ways to go about it.

The people who have been unjustly disenfranchised by our criminal justice system and the people who daily fight for them always have, and always will be, the inspiration and focus of my efforts.