Justin Forsett pens essay in response to Baltimore riots

Baltimore Ravens running back Justin Forsett wrote an essay titled "Praying For Change in Baltimore" on his blog Wednesday, commenting on the riots in Baltimore spurred after the death of 25-year-old Freddie Gray.

Forsett rose to stardom with the Ravens last season, rushing for 1,266 yards and eight touchdowns during his breakout campaign.

Now embedded as a fixture in Baltimore's sporting scene, Forsett implored residents to remain peaceful during a period of turmoil.

The Ravens' running back commenced his essay by empathizing with Baltimore's citizens.

Monday in Baltimore was an ugly time. We were seeing destruction, buildings burning down, kids having altercations with police officers, people getting injured. You see that and your heart is hurting. As a player living in this city, I'm tied to this community now. It's a special place for me for more reasons than just football. These are the people who support our team, who love to watch us play. To see the city going through this ... it's tough to watch.

Forsett indicated there was plenty of goodwill and peaceful protests spread across the city Wednesday.

Today I am seeing peaceful protests. We're seeing people come together to try and help rebuild some of what took place on Monday. You are seeing people come to the city and unite. It's a tight-knit, hardworking city here in Baltimore, and the majority of the people here want to help, want to show love, want to be heard. It's been great to watch TV today and see the good that people are doing, the positive stuff. And I'm just praying that it continues.

The riots have impacted Baltimore's professional sports clubs, with the hometown Baltimore Orioles playing in front of a completely empty home crowd against the Chicago White Sox on Wednesday.

Forsett concludes the essay as follows: 

Baltimore is my home now. I love this city, I love this community and I want nothing but the best for it. I stand with the community, and I'm also here to serve it. I'll be finding a way to go out and lend an ear or whatever it is I need to do in order to help this community and be a real part of positive change.

The entire essay can be read here.