WATCH ABOVE: The sports heros many local teens look up to are now part of a powerful message. Quinn Ohler explains.
EDMONTON – The Edmonton Eskimos and Calgary Stampeders are putting aside their rivalry to bring awareness to domestic violence.
The initiative they’re getting involved with is called Leading Change: The Alberta CFL Project, launched in collaboration with the Alberta Council of Women’s Shelters (ACWS). The project will see the professional athletes reaching out to younger men who may look up to them — starting with the Edmonton Huskies Football Club. The goal: to prevent domestic violence.
“Violence against women isn’t just a women’s issue, it’s a men’s issue, too. Young men listen to what players have to say and this can have a lasting impact,” said Jan Reimer, Executive Director of ACWS.
“[We] as men have the power and have the ability to step up and make it stop,” said Esks’ quarterback Mike Reilly.
“And so to try and lead a change like that is a really great opportunity.”
It was American football player Ray Rice who recently brought a lot of attention to this issue, for all the wrong reasons. The ex-NFL player was suspended after video of him abusing his then fiancee – now wife – surfaced.
READ MORE: Ravens cut Ray Rice after video shows him viciously punching wife
“It shows how one professional athlete can dominate a lot of conversation,” Reimer said. “So if we think of using that power to talk about how we can make change for the better, what a change that can make.”
The CFL project aims to perform 50 school and on-reserve community presentations per year.
With files from Quinn Ohler, Global News
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