You may have noticed, in recent weeks, that the National Football League has been airing spots for Law & Order: SVU star Mariska Hargitay’s Joyful Heart Foundation via its “No More” campaign PSAs. In the spots, stars like Hargitay, Amy Poehler, Andre Braugher and Ice-T call for an end to domestic violence. The message is very simple, and the ads gain an added poignancy airing during NFL games at this time.
This weekend, you will continue to see those spots, but now with participation from various NFL stars. Beginning this Thursday, players like Eli Manning and Mark Terlich, as well as former player Troy Vincent, will debut their own “No More” sports. Starting with tonight’s Denver-San Diego game on CBS and NFL Network, you’ll see spots directed in New York, California and Texas featuring those areas’ NFL stars.
You’re starting to see the fruits of what is a very much needed strategy from the NFL. Given all of the acts of domestic violence that we’ve seen and heard of from their athletes this season, you were likely going to see something from them sooner rather than later. These spots are conveniently following up the first public interview (on rights holder NBC’s Today Wednesday) with Anna Isaacson (who has the newly formed ‘VP of Social Responsibility’ position), Lisa Friel and Deana Garner-Smit, recently hired employees of the league in the wake of the recent scandals.
We’ll see if the league keeps it up with a policy of education and no tolerance toward domestic violence in the longer run, but for now, I suppose any change is positive change. Hargitay’s foundation is doing great work, and her PSAs are very effective. Seeing them on national television in primetime during the NFL will only further their message.
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