Superbowl winner Russell Wilson is using his star power to fight against domestic violence. Also, the popular NFL QB revealed he used to be a bully growing up in an editorial he wrote. Get the deets inside…
Seattle Seahawks star quarterback Russell Wilson is making some impressive passes off of the football field in an effort to help end domestic violence.
To kick off Domestic Violence Awareness Month (October), the Super Bowl winning QB has created the Why Not You Foundation. And for his first initiative, he has decided to help raise funds and awareness for a worthy cause. And it's definitely a plus that he's taking the lead in an organazation currently at the forefront of unfortuante domestic violence news.
He launched the “Pass the Peace” challenge to help support victims of domestic violence. With all of the controversy and negative media attention the NFL has received surrounding players and domestic violence, it’s nice to see other NFL players tackling the issue head on.
Russell penned an editorial for The Players Tribune (recently launched by Derek Jeter), where he summarizes his vision for his new initiative and how he plans to spread the word. He writes,
I’ve recently launched the “Why Not You Foundation” where I’ll be raising funds and awareness for a number of worthy causes. It’s a place where I plan to give back, and for my first initiative, I want us to Pass the Peace to support victims of domestic violence. The idea behind Pass the Peace is simple: It’s a promise. I’m sharing my love for you. I want to take care of you. I am here for you.
Much like the ALS Challenge, Russell is “passing the peace” to recently retired New York Yankees player Derek Jeter and singer Justin Timberlake to launch his new challenge.
In his essay, he also talked about being a bully growing up and how he changed for the better through his faith. He mentioned domestic violence is much bigger than the NFL and that the longer we ignore the elephant in the room, the longer it will exist. His words:
I used to beat people up. Truthfully, I used to beat people up a lot. Many of you readers probably think I have been Mr. Goody Two-Shoes my whole life, but honestly, I was a bully growing up.
I had a lot of anger that I didn’t know what to do with. Thankfully, I was saved by my faith when I was 14 years old, and was able to start living for others instead of just myself.
This issue is much bigger than NFL suspensions. Domestic violence isn’t going to disappear tomorrow or the next day. But the more that we choose not to talk about it, the more we shy away from the issue, the more we lose.
I can’t fix the world. I can’t fix the NFL. I can’t change the guys around me. The only person I can change is the one in the mirror. I’m not a perfect person by any means. I’m just a recovering bully. But if we start being honest about our pain, our anger, and our shortcomings instead of pretending they don’t exist, then maybe we’ll leave the world a better place than we found it. For those of us in the NFL, there’s no excuse for violence off the field.
We applaud his efforts for attempting to make a difference and hope that it helps bring awareness to the issue.
Now, what happens when they pass the peace to Ray Rice or Greg Hardy?
Photo: Russell's IG