New collaborative initiative to use the global love of sports to combat hate-fueled extremist violence

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Dec 09, 2022, 10:00 ET

NEW YORK, Dec. 9, 2022 /PRNewswire/ -- The Eradicate Hate Global Summit today announced that the UN Office on Genocide Prevention and the Responsibility to Protect has launched a Plan of Action to Counter Hate Speech Through Engagement with Sport: The Game Plan, developed by the UN Office on genocide Prevention and the Responsibility to Protect & Eradicate Hate Global Summit Sports Working Group. It is an initiative aimed at using sports as a way to help curb the dramatic global escalation of hate speech and hate-fueled violence.

"We want athletes across the globe to carry the anti-hate torch," said Alice Wairimu Nderitu, Under-Secretary- General and United Nations Special Adviser on the Prevention of Genocide and a member of the Sports Working Group. " We all share a love of sports, whether it's football/soccer, American football, baseball or whatever sport. It could make a difference if they hear their favorite athletes and leagues speak with a unified voice in condemning hate-fueled extremism."

The UN & Eradicate Hate Global Summit Sports Working Group has developed the Plan of Action for Sports: The Game Plan, which will focus not just on identifying and reporting hate speech, but on positive reactions that everyday people and athletes have taken (or are committing to take) to counter it.

The Game Plan is outlined by the acronym SPORT:

Speak openly and honestly about hate speech with athletes, employees, the public, and those who are targeted by hate speech;
Promote positive messages, practices, polices, and procedures to foster genuine respect and counter hate speech;
Organize specific outreach to communities of fans (from back yards to stadiums) to educate them about hate speech and its consequences and to try to intervene before violence and messages of hate that may lead to incitement of violence can take root;
Recognize, reward, and report success stories and positive impacts that athletes and sports figures who join the Game Plan; and
Train at all levels to identify and address hate speech.

The UN & Eradicate Hate Global Summit Sports Working Group includes a multitude of sport leagues from around the globe and its membership will continue to expand. Some of the key members of the Sports Working Group include:

Major League Baseball (MLB)
Major League Soccer (MLS)
National Association for Stock Car Auto Racing (NASCAR)
National Basketball Association (NBA)
National Football League (NFL)
National Hockey League (NHL)
Women's National Basketball Association (WNBA)
U.S. Soccer Federation, U.S. Women's National Team (USWNT)

"This Sports Working Group is built on the foundation of the global reach and influence of the U.N. and the expertise and urgency of the Eradicate Hate Global Summit," said Laura Ellsworth, Co-Chair of the Sports Working Group and the Co-Chair of the Eradicate Hate Global Summit.

"At the end of the day, we want to work together to develop best practices and global initiatives which sports leagues, teams, players, and fans can activate in their organization and community to combat hate. We believe there is power in sports that can unite all of us to take a stand against hate," said Michele Rosenthal, Co-Chair of the Sports Working Group.

Rosenthal's two brothers, David and Cecil Rosenthal, were killed in the 2018 hate-fueled attack on Pittsburgh's Tree of Life Synagogue. That attack by a heavily armed gunman led to the deaths of 11 worshipers and constituted the deadliest antisemitic act in U.S. history. It became the impetus for the Eradicate Hate Global Summit.

About the United Nations Office on Genocide Prevention and the Responsibility to Protect: The office is aimed at strengthening the capacity of the United Nations to identify situations at risk of genocide, war crimes, ethnic cleansing and crimes against humanity (atrocity crimes), take early action to prevent them, and improve protection of populations. The office is the U.N.'s global focal point for hate speech. For more information go here.

About the Eradicate Hate Global Summit: The Summit is the most comprehensive anti-hate conference in the world. It unites experts and leaders from around the globe, who are dedicated to eradicating all forms of hate-fueled violence. The mission of the Summit is to identify and implement effective solutions for collective change. The Summit occurs each year in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, USA where the deadliest anti-sematic attack in U.S. history occurred in 2018. Eleven worshipers were killed, and several others severely wounded by an armed gunman at the city's Tree of Life Synagogue. The Summit is committed to delivering solutions to address the hate-fueled extremism that led to the attack. For more information go here.

To access the entire "Game Plan" of the U.N. & Eradicate Hate Global Summit Sports Working Group, click here.

To access a Q&A on the Sports Working Group, click here.

To access a brief video where Co-Chair Michelle Rosenthal talks about the initial reaction to the Sports Working Group's goals by various sports leagues and teams, click here.

To access a short video where UN Special Adviser Alice Nderitu speaks about using sports to reach hate-fueled extremists, click here.