Boldin retires to focus on causes

WR seeking to help bridge divided nation

ORCHARD PARK, N.Y. » A deadly, racially charged conflict in Charlottesville, Virginia, caused Anquan Boldin to re-assess his priorities and led to the Buffalo Bills receiver’s decision to retire after 14 NFL seasons.

In an interview Monday on SiriusXM NFL Radio, Boldin said he’s “uncomfortable” with how divided the nation is and wants to dedicate his entire focus to humanitarian and criminal justice causes.

“I always felt like football would be my passion, football would be the path to a lot of things,” Boldin said. “But just seeing the things that transpired over the last week or so, I think for me, there’s something bigger than football at this point.”

He then clarified that he was referring specifically to what happened in Charlottesville on Aug. 13, when a counter-protester and two Virginia state police officers were killed during a rally in- volving neo- Nazis and other right-wing groups.

“Do I think I can solve all the problems that we have in this country? Of course not,” he said. “But I think I have a duty to stand up and make my voice heard and be a voice for those who don’t have a voice.”

The NFL’s 2015 Walter Payton Man of the Year, Boldin oversees the South Florida-based Q81 Foundation, which offers educational support for underprivileged children. He has become an advocate for criminal justice reform since his cousin was killed by a plain- clothes police officer along the side of a Florida highway in October 2015.

JEFFREY T. BARNES — THE ASSOCIATED PRESS Buffalo Bills’ Anquan Boldin warms up before a preseason NFL football game against the Minnesota Vikings Thursday in Orchard Park, N.Y.