On Derek Jeter’s website, Russell Wilson says he’s a ‘recovering bully’

Russell Wilson knows his reputation as one of the NFL’s nice guys. And he doesn’t want to hide behind it anymore.

In a piece penned for Derek Jeter’s new website, The Players’ Tribune, the Seattle Seahawks quarterback admits to having been a bully as a child -- and to having done some pretty awful things in that role.

“I used to beat people up. 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,” Wilson writes. “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.

“I had a lot of anger that I didn’t know what to do with. Thankfully, I was saved by my faith when I was 14 years old, and was able to start living for others instead of just myself.”

Wilson makes these admissions as a way of opening up a dialogue about domestic violence and other such issues that are plaguing the NFL and the world in general. He introduces an initiative called Pass the Peace, encouraging others to support victims of domestic violence.

“I’m not a perfect person by any means. I’m just a recovering bully,” Wilson writes. “But if we start being honest about our pain, our anger, and our shortcomings instead of pretending they don’t exist, then maybe we’ll leave the world a better place than we found it. For those of us in the NFL, there’s no excuse for violence off the field.”

The piece is the first for The Players’ Tribune, which Jeter launched earlier this week as a place where athletes can “connect directly with our fans, with no filter.”

Pretty sure Wilson’s editorial is exactly what the now-retired New York Yankees legend had in mind.

Twitter: @chewkiii