(Photo by Michael Hickey/Getty Images)
With the war going on in Ukraine right now, Ron Cook of 93.7 The Fan asked the recently retired Alejandro Villanueva on Thursday if he would go back to active duty if he was needed, and Villanueva said he would go back in a second.
“A thousand percent,” he said. “That’s why I’m so skinny. I’m 265 right now. The moment we have to go, there’s no way I’m going to be on the sidelines. I think most veterans, if there’s a war, you don’t want to see somebody else go fight it. How are you going to look at yourself after the war if you didn’t take part in whatever went on?"
Villanueva said it's very sad and unfortunate with Russia invading Ukraine. And he has sympathy for both sides, as no one wins in war. At the end of the day, it's governments that decide on unneeded wars Not the citizens.
"I feel terribly bad for the Ukrainians and the Russians, because I don’t think the Russians are feeling particularly enthused about this war, either.”
Villanueva currently resides in Miami with his wife and four children. Villanueva said he has a fishing trip planned with David DeCastro and Maurkice Pouncey in the next couple of weeks. Villanueva is enjoying life in South Florida and doesn't have any second thoughts about retiring.
“I’m not going to miss football at all,” Villanueva said. “The world of football and the NFL always seemed a little bit circus-like to me. I enjoyed the locker room and being with my friends, but the game of football? Ping-pong is a lot more entertaining, in my opinion, than just sitting out there and suffering and hoping you don't find yourself in 3rd-and-10, 20 times a game.”