Hello [team mascot]! How is everyone today?

  1. You might know that I play on the [type of sport] team, but I’m here to talk to you about something that’s important to me off the field.
    1. Mention current events to introduce the discussion of assault and violence on high school and college campuses–Steubenville, The Hunting Ground, investigations of colleges by the Department of Justice, etc.
    2. Relate personal experience to it. Say how you feel hearing about these current events.
  2. We all know that there’s a stereotype about male athletes, that we’re “players” and “get girls” all the time. But there’s an issue with that.
    1. Discuss the pressure for male athletes to be “tough” and not “girly” and why that’s not cool
    2. When someone says that you “throw like a girl” you shouldn’t be insulted. There are many great female athletes
      1. Mention a female classmate as an example
    3. Why is “like a girl” an insult? It shows a disrespect for our female classmates. Girls aren’t weak, girls aren’t dumb, girls aren’t worth less than boys.
    4. I am asking you all to treat your classmates with a spirit of sportsmanship and respect.
      1. Ask the audience a question, such as
        1. Do you agree?
        2. [School name] are you with me?
        3. I want to go to a school where everyone is respected, how about you
  1. Bring the idea of respect into the issue of sexual assault
    1. Respect doesn’t just mean not calling classmates names, it also means making tough choices.
      1. On the [court/field] we have to make a lot of tough calls, even when we’re nervous. Being an active bystander requires doing the same.
        1. Give one example of times when you have been an active bystander. For example:
          1. When I heard my friend calling a girl a “slut” I told him “that’s not cool” because all people deserve respect, no matter how many people they hook up with.
          2. When I heard my team mate say that a girl was “asking for it” I said, “you’re joking right? nobody ever asks to be hurt or assaulted. It’s never a victim’s fault.”
          3. Once I was at a party and saw a guy hitting on a girl who looked like she was very drunk, I stepped in and helped her find her friends so she could get home safe.
        2. Assure classmates that being an active bystander may be scary but can be done in multiple ways like
          1. Spilling a drink
          2. Making a joke
          3. Asking for a friend’s help
  2. Bring in the Educate Coaches Campaign
    1. Who else here plays a sport?
      1. If you just raised your hand, you already know the importance of our coaches, but for the rest, I want to highlight my relationship with Coach [Last name of coach]
        1. Anecdote about a time Coach encouraged you, challenged you, taught you something important.
      2. Coaches have a huge capacity to do good, and spread the message that being an athlete doesn’t have to mean being a “player” or being disrespectful. I want to call on [school name]’s administration to provide coaches with sexual assault prevention training.
      3. I’m going to graduate in [x] years, but coaches stick along for a long time, and if they get training on sexual assault prevention they can pass that information along to generations of [school name] students.
    2. So what is “prevention training”?
      1. Teaching students to recognize unhealthy dynamics in relationships<
      2. Talking about how to intervene in potentially dangerous situations
      3. Understand what is and isn’t consent, and why consent is so important
    3. I believe that if this happens, this school will be a better place for all of us
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