Darren Rovell · @darrenrovell
18th Sep 2014 from TwitLonger
Verizon CEO Lowell McAdam issues most extensive reaction from NFL sponsor yet, says solution is to STAY with league: "As a major sponsor of the National Football League, Verizon has been caught up in the swirl of commentary about how we and other NFL partners have responded to the horrendous reports of domestic violence involving NFL players.
How will it affect our brand, the pundits ask? Will we or won’t we pull our advertising? Did we say too much, or not enough, in our public statements about the NFL’s handling of these incidents?
To me, all these questions are beside the point.
The real crisis this firestorm has brought to light goes way beyond Verizon’s image or the future of the NFL. It’s about the scourge of domestic violence itself – a plague that crosses all sports, all communities, and all demographics.
Chances are, someone you know has suffered the emotional and physical toll of being abused by an intimate acquaintance. If you run a business, you’re being affected every day in terms of lost time and productivity. But for all the recent publicity – not to mention the terrible pervasiveness of this issue – the crisis of domestic violence operates under a persistent veil of secrecy. A recent study by the Avon Foundation for Women finds that most Americans have never had a conversation about domestic violence, even though 22 percent have been victims themselves and 60 percent know someone who is.
In my view, the answer to this widespread culture of denial around domestic violence in our society is more engagement, not less.
At Verizon, we’ve been engaged with preventing domestic violence since 1995 when we launched the HopeLine program, which uses the proceeds from recycling and reusing old wireless phones to benefit women’s shelters and other victims’ organizations.
Since 2001, we’ve donated more than $77 million, 180,000 cell phones and millions of voice minutes and text messaging services to domestic violence organizations. With the commitments currently in the pipeline, our total contributions will top $100 million.
We’ve also developed a deep reservoir of practical knowledge in this area from working with experts in the field on programs to educate the public, empower victims and survivors and change the behaviors that lead to domestic violence in the first place.
Because of our long-standing commitment to this issue, we believe we can be far more effective in preventing domestic violence by remaining in the arena with our partners at the NFL, rather than backing away from the controversy.
The NFL reached out to us several weeks ago to assist them in formulating a long-term solution to the domestic violence issue in the league and the communities in which they operate, and we have been working behind the scenes to develop and implement programs that will address the problem at its root. We have a saying at Verizon that’s memorialized in our company credo that hangs on my office wall: “We run to a crisis, not away.”
If you agree, there’s a way you can help.
In June, we launched a program through HopeLine called “Because Voices Have Power,” a national digital and social media campaign designed to increase awareness of domestic violence among consumers and provide a platform for the public to send messages of hope to
domestic violence victims and survivors. For each message of hope shared, Verizon has committed to donating $3 to local and national domestic violence prevention organizations across the country. To add your voice to the conversation, submit a message of hope online at www.voiceshavepower.com, via text at 94079 or through social media using the hashtag #VoicesHavePower.
We intend to use our leverage and our leadership to keep the dialogue going on an issue that’s been tucked behind closed doors for way too long, and we’ll continue to work with our partners at the NFL to be a voice for change and a force for good, not just in the league but in our society as a whole.
If we do that, our reputation will take care of itself."