PITTSBURGH, Pa. – The Pittsburgh Pirates are joining the Pennsylvania Coalition Against Domestic Violence to say NO MORE to domestic violence and sexual abuse.
On Saturday, June 13 the Pirates will announce the team’s partnership with PCADV at the 4:05 p.m. game against the Philadelphia Phillies by debuting a public service announcement in which several of the team’s players – including Andrew McCutchen, Neil Walker and Josh Harrison – say “NO MORE.”
The PSA will air for the first time before the game on the PNC Park scoreboard, and will air during Pirates’ broadcasts this summer on Root Sports TV and the Pirates’ radio network.
Phillies players also have recorded a 30-second NO MORE PSA that will air this summer in eastern Pennsylvania.
While the Pirates’ and Phillies’ PSAs are similar in style and content to the national NO MORE commercials featuring professional football players that aired during National Football League telecasts last fall, the goal is slightly different, said PCADV Executive Director Peg J. Dierkers.
“We are pleased that the Pirates and Phillies are standing with us as we work to end domestic violence and sexual assault,” Dierkers said. “Their ownership, management, coaches and players are lending their voices to the growing chorus of men in Pennsylvania who are saying, ‘Being a man does not mean physically or emotionally abusing women; it means standing up and saying NO MORE when you witness domestic violence and sexual assault in your community.'”
The oldest statewide domestic violence coalition in the nation, PCADV and its statewide network of 60 centers provide housing, legal, counseling and other services to domestic violence victims in all 67 counties.
Domestic violence and sexual assault remain at high levels in the commonwealth. Last year, 141 Pennsylvanians died in domestic violence-related homicides, including 43 in the Pittsburgh metropolitan region.
“The Pittsburgh Pirates are proud to support the PCADV’s ‘NO MORE’ campaign,” said Frank Coonelly, Pittsburgh Pirates president. “We hope that our organization’s strong stand against domestic violence and in support of healthy, respectful relationships can play a role in ending violence against women.”
Prior to the June 13 game, PCADV volunteers and representatives from Women’s Center & Shelter of Greater Pittsburgh; Pittsburgh Action Against Rape; Alle-Kiski Area Hope Center Inc.; YWCA of Greater Pittsburgh; Crisis Center North; Center for Victims; Blackburn Center Against Domestic & Sexual Violence; VOICe; HAVIN; Women’s Center of Beaver County; 3ENow; and Alice Paul House will be outside PNC Park on Federal Street to provide information to the public about recognizing, reporting and stopping domestic violence and sexual assault.
Fans attending the game can sign a #FathersDayPledgePA banner in which they promise to help end domestic violence and gender assault in their communities. The banner will be available for signing on Federal Street before the game and on the Riverwalk inside PNC Park during the game. The petition can also be signed online at www.pasaysnomore.com.
The Pirates-Phillies game kicks off a weeklong series of events across Pennsylvania to generate public support for #FathersDayPledgePA, a social media campaign aimed at raising public awareness of domestic violence and sexual assault. Related events include:
•June 16: The Harrisburg Senators baseball team will host a #FathersDayPledgePA signing event before their 7 p.m. home game against Richmond. Before the game, Harrisburg city councilmen will read a proclamation designating June 15-21 as #FathersDayPledgePA week in the capitol city.
•June 17: The Phillies will host a #Father’sDayPledgePA signing event at the 7:05 p.m. game at Citizens Bank Park. The Phillies will premiere their “NO MORE” PSAs at the game, featuring Phillies Manager Ryne Sandberg, third baseman Cody Asche, pitcher Chad Billingsley, catcher Carlos Ruiz and pitcher Jerome Williams.
•June 19: The FISA Foundation will host a #FathersDayPledgePA signing event in the City-County Building courtyard beginning at noon.
•June 21-22: PCADV will publish its annual #FathersDayPledgePA petition, featuring the signatures of local civic, religious, political and business leaders, in the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette, Philadelphia Inquirer and Philadelphia Daily News.
“We’re trying to change the conversation about what it means to be a man – being strong but without devaluing or objectifying women,” Dierkers said. “We want to raise awareness about being a different type of man.”
About PCADV
Founded in 1976, the Pennsylvania Coalition Against Domestic Violence is the oldest statewide domestic violence coalition in the nation. Each year it provides free and confidential services to nearly 100,000 victims of domestic violence, through a network of 60 community-based programs serving all 67 counties in the commonwealth. PCADV also promotes public awareness of domestic violence-related issues through its PA SAYS NO MORE campaign, which it operates in partnership with the Pennsylvania Coalition Against Rape. For more information, visit www.pcadv.org or www.pasaysnomore.com, or follow PCADV on Facebook and on Twitter, @pcadvorg.
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