The NFL is preparing to put its wallet behind efforts to end sexual violence.
According to Lindsay Jones of USA Today, the league is going to announce $10 million in funding over the next five years to a group of non-profits working to prevent sexual violence.
“What I can’t stress enough is the potential for this progress and how excited we are to be standing behind these organizations because their goals are so lofty and this is such a huge moment in sexual violence. To be able to use these moments and actually make real change, it’s something that we really believe in,” Anna Isaacson, the NFL’s senior vice president of social responsibility said. “The coalition really believes they can end sexual violence in a generation and they’ve convinced the NFL that they can do it, and that’s really huge and exciting and something that we’re going to be watching closely and following for many years.”
Of course, the league’s going to have to convince plenty of people they’re serious about the efforts, after Ray Rice initially drew a two-game suspension for punching his wife in the face — before video of the incident emerged and caused them to handle such matters more seriously.
The new donations are going to a group called Raliance, a coalition between the National Sexual Violence Resource Center, the California Coalition Against Sexual Assault and the National Alliance to End Sexual Violence.
The NFL met with the NSVRC after the Rice and Greg Hardy situations, and helped to fund sexual assault hotlines. Now, they’re taking a step to become a more active partner with the groups trying to bring changes in patterns of behavior, hopefully doing more than writing a check.