As part of the NFL’s My Cause My Cleats campaign, 13 players from 9 different teams wore personalized Everytown for Gun Safety cleats for their games this past weekend and participated in an IG fundraiser that reached 2.1 million people. Significantly, 1.9 million of these individuals came from accounts that didn’t follow Everytown for Gun Safety. Similarly, more than 85 percent of the accounts that engaged with the post were new to Everytown. The campaign was covered in major news outlets and lifted by NFL team pages as well as players’ social media.
Almost all of the players involved in the campaign are survivors, including Sam Williams from the Cowboys who shared this moving interview about his niece and brother, and Brian Robinson of the Commanders who was shot in August. Three players from the Eagles participated, and there is more about their efforts to honor a High School football player who was shot and killed in Philadelphia in this Inquirer story.
Altogether, more than 20 players around the League raised awareness for gun violence prevention. Together, they demonstrated that gun violence prevention is not a “political” issue. Like other causes championed by NFL players, such as supporting youth development through Boys and Girls Clubs or raising funds to prevent and treat cancer, ending gun violence is an issue that impacts all of our communities. Nearly 60 percent of Americans have been impacted directly by gun violence or know someone who has suffered a gun-related tragedy.
The following NFL players raised awareness for Everytown:
Jake Elliott, Eagles
Shaun Bradley, Eagles
Haason Riddick, Eagles
Rasul Douglas, Packers
Darrick Forrest, Commanders
De’Jon Harris, Commanders
Brian Robinson Jr, Commanders
Diontae Spencer, NY Jets
Larrell Murchison, Titans
Tyrie Cleveland, Broncos
Sam Williams, Cowboys
Martin Emerson Jr, Browns
Kenneth Walker III, Seahawks