Bullying In The NFL – One Really Powerful Story You Just Have To Read

I recently came across yet another powerful reminder as to why I do the work that I do in the field of Respectful Conduct training.
That reminder came from the world of professional sports and again it came from the NFL. It is called NFL Characters Unite.
There have been many headlines regarding aggressive and in-your-face behaviour by National Football League players over the past several years. With increasing frequency, those headlines appear to be regarding behaviour between players OFF the field of play, not on it.
Several football teams have become synonymous not only for their incredible reputations of their athletes but also for the conduct of their players off the pitch.
Images of those headlines of allegations of domestic violence and child abuse live longer than catches in the end zone ever will.
The NFL Commissioner, Roger Goodell was recently speaking at a team owners’ meeting in Phoenix talking about the fallout from player conduct issues.
As a huge statement regarding the NFL’s efforts to tackle the issue of domestic violence they ran this commercial during last season’s Super Bowl game.

The powerful story that I wanted to share with you is about the very positive work being done by a group of NFL players who wish to demonstrate how they faced hardships in their younger years to become who they are today.
Characters Unite  began four years ago and has taken on more and more energy and relevance as the headlines of racism, discrimination and bullying continue to come.
NFL Characters Unite overview is a message from some of the biggest stars of the game and when I watched the 5 minute video, I couldn’t help but to think about my journey to some extent.
Not that I was ever a high performance athlete (far from it actually) but it was the message that often it is exactly the struggles that you face as a youngster, that motivates you in life.
That is why I do what I do.
And looking at the stories in NFL Characters Unite, it is why they do what they do as well.