Mathieu follows emotional rant with football camp in New Orleans

Following the shooting death of former New Orleans Saints defensive end Will Smith, Arizona Cardinals defensive back and New Orleans native Tyrann Mathieu was among the most vocal to respond.

Mathieu stated he couldn't stay in his hometown for more than 48 hours at a time and lashed out at the culture of violence and hate that he saw growing up.

Related: Tyrann Mathieu says he knew 'coward' charged with killing Will Smith

The Cardinals defender has since taken a hiatus from social media and hasn't done much talking in the media, but on Saturday in New Orleans, he made a mark with his actions instead.

Mathieu held the first instalment of his "Heart of a Badger" camp in an effort to help his hometown communities and make a difference in the lives of its youth.

"This was a place I grew up at, a place that means a lot to me. All my family’s here," Mathieu told ESPN's Mike Triplett. "The most important thing is that I lost a lot of family members here. So I spoke from an emotional place, a personal place. And you never want to see anybody lose their life. So that was really the gist of my saying what I said at that time."

The camp was attended by about 400 local children, who Mathieu hopes to give guidance to, something he didn't get a lot of at their age.

"I just want to encourage them and inspire them," Mathieu said. "Most of them just need some direction, some sense of leadership. Hopefully I can give that to them today.

"I think a lot of people should stand up and speak out and give back. I'm just fortunate enough that I have a platform that I'm able to do that. And it was a good turnout today."