Wilson: Domonique Foxworth Q&A

OWINGS MILLS, Md. -- Baltimore Ravens cornerback Domonique Foxworth is the youngest member of the executive committee in NFL Players Association history.

He conducted the following Q&A with National Football Post:

There have been reports that negotiations between the players union and the NFL management council haven’t gone well. Are you still optimistic that a deal will ultimately get done before a lockout in 2011 ensues?

Foxworth: "I think hopeful is a perfect word. The negotiations I’ve been able to be a part of haven’t been all that great, but not all bad. I think it could go either way. Obviously, the players want to play. Hopeful is the best feeling I could have. I’m really hoping we can come to an agreement."

What do you consider to be the key issues in the dispute?

Foxworth: "There are very few issues on our side. Obviously, we didn’t opt out because we’re happy with the agreement. We would have loved to keep it going. Obviously, we’re looking to improve on some offseason and off-field issues and player safety."

What advice are you giving players about saving money in case the owners lock out the players in 2011

Foxworth: "I think it’s always good advice to give somebody to be safe with your money and to be careful with your spending given the pending lockout. It hits home a little harder. It’s easier to tell these guys that they could be facing a problem. Obviously, the highest class of the NFL is a small number. People misunderstand how much money people make. The top five guys will be just fine in a lockout and the owners won’t be in any financial straits.

"Everybody else is going to be hurt. It’s unfortunate. It’s a very negative domino effect that a lockout would cause for people who work at the stadiums and work for organizations. If there’s no football, a huge number of people would be affected."

How do you balance the fun of the game versus how serious the NFL is?

Foxworth: "The fact that it’s become a business, it is what it is. I can’t complain about it. It gave me the opportunity to set myself up and my family. It definitely changes the amount of fun you can have. Every situation is so high-intensity and so, so important. You have to keep perspective. I try to approach it to have fun and enjoy my job. People can get burned out."

Darrent Williams was your close friend and teammate with the Denver Broncos who was shot dead by a gang member during a 2007 New Year’s celebration. How often do you think about him?

Foxworth: "All the time, especially this time of year when we lost him. It’s on my mind oftentimes in the locker room in a football setting. It pops up in my mind. I think about his mom and his family and what he would be doing. I think about his son and his daughter. It’s something that will never leave. It’s something that helped me get perspective.

"The day he died we lost to the 49ers and I remember that morning thinking the worst thing that could happen would be if we lost and didn’t go to the playoffs. At 4 in the morning, I got a call from Champ Bailey letting me know what happened. It put everything into perspective, and I couldn’t care less about the playoffs."

How would you like to be remembered one day as a football player and as a man?

Foxworth: "I don’t think about my legacy, but I want to be happy with myself and able to look myself in the mirror and know I’m doing right by the people around me. It’s not always the things that make you the most popular that are most important me. The most important thing to me is to live a life I can be proud of at all times, in tough times, and still remain the same person that I desire to be in great times.

"I would like to be remembered as someone who lived a responsible, respectable life. While I’m here, I would like to be proud of myself if everyone in the world can see or if nobody is around. I want to be able to stand up and be proud."

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