NY Sports Teams Feature in Fan-Focused Campaign to Address Domestic Violence

Speaker Mark-Viverito urges Giants and Jets to join

NEW YORK – Starting Monday, October 24th,  #NotAFan – a new campaign launched by the National Coalition Against Domestic Violence (NCADV) and New York City Council Speaker Melissa Mark- Viverito to address domestic violence in professional sports – will begin airing in Taxi TV. #NotAFan is a fan-focused public awareness campaign that empowers fans to take a stand against domestic violence. The campaign features sports figures from most of the New York teams except the National Football League (NFL): The Yankees (Joe Girardi), Mets (Jeurys Familia), Knicks (John Starks), Liberty (Kiah Stokes), Rangers (Rod Gilbert), and Cosmos (Lucky Mkosana and Giovanni Savarese) appear in a series of video PSAs and photography portraits. The videos can be viewed here: www.notafandv.org

Although the Giants and Jets have declined to participate, Speaker Mark-Viverito urged them to reconsider.

“The NFL has an abysmal record of standing up for players at the expense of the women they abuse. I’m absolutely horrified that the Giants gave Josh Brown a $4 million contract despite knowing about his history of domestic violence. Although they have previously declined to participate in the #NotAFan campaign, I’m urging them to reconsider and work to establish meaningful policies that reflect the reality of this awful crime. Failure to do so will further compound the problem and force fans to be complicit in the Giants’ poor decision making. The Giants owe their fans, nearly half of whom are women, better,” said NYC Council Speaker Melissa Mark-Viverito.

Last week, the Speaker sent a letter) to the New York Giants regarding the revelations that kicker Josh Brown had admitted to abusing his ex-wife, Molly Brown. Writing that “it is unacceptable to continue to defend Brown,” she encouraged the Giants to take a strong stand against domestic violence and participate in the #NotAFan campaign.

 

 

Background

Together with the National Coalition Against Domestic Violence, New York City Council Speaker Melissa Mark-Viverito is the first public official in the country to launch a major campaign against domestic violence in sports. A lifelong advocate against domestic violence, Mark-Viverito has been outspoken about the need for professional sports to develop stronger policies.

Domestic violence is a widespread social problem and professional sports are not immune. When an athlete is involved in an incident, sports fans are often caught in the middle and forced to reconcile their allegiance to a team and their feelings about domestic violence with little direction. This can cause conflict, confusion, and misunderstanding. #NotAFan provides sports fans with a medium where they can openly support their team while maintaining and communicating that domestic violence is unacceptable, rather than picking a “side.”

The message of #NotAFan is simple: you can be a baseball/basketball/hockey/soccer fan, a Yankees/Mets/Knicks/Liberty/Rangers/Cosmos fan, but NOT A FAN of domestic violence.

The campaign encourages fans to wear purple on their team’s jersey or cap and tweet/upload to social media a photo of themselves with the hashtag “#NotAFan of domestic violence.” The PSA also directs viewers to the National Coalition Against Domestic Violence where they can learn more and donate to support efforts to raise awareness and address domestic violence.

 

The campaign includes six 30-second videos for each team with a customized script:

 

Girardi: I’m a baseball fan. I’m a Yankee fan. I’m NOT A FAN of domestic violence.

Familia: I’m a baseball fan. I’m a Mets fan. I’m NOT A FAN of domestic violence.

Starks: I’m a basketball fan. I’m a Knicks fan. I’m NOT A FAN of domestic violence.

Stokes: I’m a basketball fan. I’m a Liberty fan. I’m NOT A FAN of domestic violence.

Gilbert: I’m a hockey fan. I’m a Rangers fan. I’m NOT A FAN of domestic violence.

Mkosana: I’m a soccer fan. I’m a Cosmos fan. I’m NOT A FAN of domestic violence.

 

There is also a dramatic 60-second mash-up compilation.

 

A separate 30 second video (English and Spanish) features Speaker Melissa Mark-Viverito:

Domestic violence may be something that happens behind closed doors, but it’s not a private matter. Nearly 20 people per minute are physically abused by an intimate partner in the United States. It’s a crime that destroys families. And it’s time for all of us to take a stand and say: I’m a baseball fan, a basketball fan, a football fan, a soccer fan, a hockey fan but I’m Not A Fan of Domestic Violence

 

The #NotAFan concept was co-created by Alexis Grenell with the film’s director, Jimmy Ferguson and produced and edited by creative content house, Blonde + Co.

Blonde+Co is an award-winning, WBENC nationally certified Women’s Owned Business whose Founder and President, Julie Stahl, left an abusive relationship two decades ago.

The photographic campaign was shot by Celeste Sloman and the video spots were color graded by visual effects company The Mill, New York.

The cinematic approach to filming, moody color treatment and breathtaking sound design amplifies the emotional connection to the PSAs.

 

About National Coalition Against Domestic Violence

 

The National Coalition Against Domestic Violence (NCADV) is the voice of victims and survivors and works as the catalyst for changing society to have zero tolerance for domestic violence. NCADV does this by affecting public policy, increasing understanding of the impact of domestic violence, and providing programs and education that drive change. For more information about NCADV, visit www.ncadv.org.