America East, RISE Enhance Spread Respect Events
BOSTON – Taking the next steps in advancing its #SpreadRespect movement, America East, through its partnership with RISE, will sponsor several campus events throughout the month of February. #SpreadRespect events raise awareness to ensure equality and safety for all student-athletes, coaches and fans without regard to race, ethnicity, religion, sexual orientation or gender identity.
The latest rendition of #SpreadRespect events will take place at #AEHoops games over the next two-plus weeks and aim to put into action what it means to spread respect by calling attention to key themes. This campaign was created, in partnership with RISE, to further enrich the messaging and dialogue around institutional #SpreadRespect events during men’s and women’s basketball games. Eighteen #SpreadRespect events are taking place over the course of 15 days with each day having been assigned a Spread Respect theme.
- February 12 (6 games) - Empathy
- February 15 (2 games) - Leadership
- February 16 (1 game) - Perspective Taking
- February 19 (3 games) - Trust
- February 20 (3 games) - Allyship
- February 22 (1 game) - Critical Thinking
- February 26 (2 games) - Reflection
Full Listing of Events
As part of #SpreadRespect nights, both teams will wear specially designed shooting shirts prior to all #SpreadRespect games again this year.
Additionally, America East and RISE will host a campus event at Stony Brook on Wednesday, Feb. 12 prior to Stony Brook’s women’s basketball game vs. Binghamton. The event will feature several speakers, including RISE CEO Diahann Billings-Burford and select Stony Brook student-athletes, and focus on bringing Stony Brook’s athletics and campus community together to discuss what diversity and inclusion look like at Stony Brook and to discuss strategies to help advance diversity, equity and inclusion on campus. Approximately 100 guests will attend the event, including students, faculty, and staff from Stony Brook. The event takes place at 5 p.m. in Stony Brook’s Indoor Sports Complex.
In 2019, America East teamed up with RISE to expand the scope of its #SpreadRespect initiative and broaden the conversation on race. The partnership is focused on research and analysis of each member institutions’ current practices as well as education and outreach, including on campus events such as the one at Stony Brook. UMBC hosted a campus conversation last February.
RISE is a national nonprofit that educates and empowers the sports community to eliminate racial discrimination, champion social justice and improve race relations. Through its partnerships and programs, RISE inspires leaders in sports to create positive change on matters of race and equality.
America East began prioritizing diversity and inclusion in 2012 when it became the first Division I conference to partner with the You Can Play Project, which works to ensure the safety and inclusion of all in sports. Since then, the conference has helped further You Can Play’s mission by sponsoring a speaker series and locker-room campaigns on its members' campuses and by creating videos to educate the general public. The conference has also held Spread Respect nights, formerly You Can Play nights, since 2015 as a way to promote awareness and education at America East events to ensure equality, respect and safety for all athletes without regard to sexual orientation or gender identity.
The conference partnered with LGBT SportSafe in 2016, becoming the first conference in the organization’s Founders’ Club, and sponsored educational programming on each of its campuses. LGBT SportSafe provides training to educate coaches, athletic administrators and recreational sports staff on best practices and policies in creating an LGBTQ+ inclusive athletic community.
In October, the conference hosted its first-ever #SpreadRespect forum, which brought together campus leaders, student-athletes and others to engage in dialogue about diversity and inclusion.
#SpreadRespect is one of the many America East programs under the conference’s #3Pillars “leadership” umbrella aimed at making a difference for conference stakeholders, on league campuses and within their communities. Other initiatives include SAAC’s mental health campaign, #BetterTo9ether, the America East Alumni Network and Health & Safety Summit and the #3PAcademy, which focuses on providing professional development opportunities to America East constituents through its digital series and in-person programming.
About America East: The America East provides its member schools and their athletic programs a platform upon which student-athletes can achieve both collegiate and life success through the promotion and nurturing of athletic excellence, academic achievement and leadership, on and off the field.
- #3Pillars – Building the Complete Student-Athlete -