Arizona State football takes a stand against domestic violence

Arizona State football players have a picture hanging in front of their lockers.

These aren’t photos of themselves making a play or posing in their uniforms, but a picture of someone who influenced their careers, after being tasked to do so by coach Todd Graham, according to a story by ESPN’s Dana O’Neil.

Not too long ago, as news swirled about Ray Rice and other incidents of domestic violence, quarterback Taylor Kelly looked around the locker and noticed a trend – the vast majority of his teammates had hung a picture of a woman.

“A mom, a grandma, a sister,” Kelly said.

It got Kelly, and a group of other seniors that serve as the Sun Devils’ leadership council, to thinking: What if they took Graham’s idea and tweaked it to send a message?

So began a simple yet powerful stand against domestic violence — Arizona State’s version of #ItsOnUs .

Each football player was given a piece of paper that read at the top: I pledge to stop domestic violence because … Each player filled in the blank.

Many players took the pledge further, posting pictures of themselves holding the papers on personal and team social media accounts.These photos are now posted throughout the players’ and teams’ Twitter and Instagram accounts, representing a permanent commitment to the words and this cause.

Possibly more than a promise to themselves though, the team is hoping the posts will help spread the message throughout campus and catch with other universities throughout the country.

On National Day of Unity, @FootballASU wrote down why they do their part to stop domestic violence #ItsOnUs pic.twitter.com/VeBYuOFkra

— Sun Devil Athletics (@TheSunDevils) October 7, 2014

#ItsOnUs #DontDoIt RT @MikeBerco: My pledge to stop domestic violence #SunDevilBrotherhood pic.twitter.com/Tw3TfGizSx

— Sun Devil Football (@FootballASU) October 8, 2014

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