Ill-informed statements such as the perplexing one Mr. Hopkins muttered recently are dangerous and irresponsible. It perpetuates a maliciously inaccurate stereotype that insinuates those African-Americans who have access to a wider variety of resources are somehow culturally different than their brethren.

Donovan successfully lead the Philadelphia Eagles franchise for a decade. He is the ultimate professional. On the field, he embodied confidence, hard work, assertiveness and a mutual respect for his teammates and the organization. Off the field, Donovan has been an outspoken advocate in the fight against diabetes, which has disproportionally affected the black community. He has given his time to bring awareness to this disease, which unfortunately affects 4.9 million African-Americans. Additionally, he is also involved in many other social initiatives. Donovan has always prided himself on being a leader who possesses impenetrable integrity. He will continue to exemplify the same characteristics in his future endeavors and will remain committed to serving all communities.

Donovan’s parents are proud Americans who worked hard to give their sons the best childhood they could provide. He is unapologetically proud of sacrifices they made for him. Donovan and his brother were raised to be hard-working African-American men who were taught to believe in themselves.

It is vital that we extinguish this brand of willful ignorance and instill in the minds of African-American youth regardless of the parental makeup of your household they can become anything they wish if they work hard and make the right decisions in life.

I wish Mr. Hopkins luck in his upcoming fight.