Dolphins Owner Stephen Ross' nonprofit Ross Initiative in Sports for Equality today is launching a nationwide campaign that will show off an unprecedented alliance of most of the larger sports properties, including the NFL, NBA, NHL, MLB, MLS and NCAA, and supported by all the major sports networks: ESPN, Fox, CBS, NBC and Turner.
In a series of PSAs that will run across most sports – in stadiums and arenas and during game broadcasts – some of the nation’s more prominent athletes, including Tom Brady and LeBron James, will invite fans to take a Rise To Win pledge at the organization’s website, promising to stand up against racism.
Ross appeared on “CBS This Morning” today to discuss the initiative. Speaking about the Richie Incognito-Jonathan Martin bullying scandal, he said, “We had our incident that was on the front pages for about two months in Miami, and I saw what it was and I was troubled by it. … I talked to a lot of people, thought about it and kind of put together this nonprofit that is kind of unprecedented in using sports to create change. We all know that sports is probably the common denominator in this country, if not the world” (“CBS This Morning,” 10/16).
