Indiana Football Starts Campaign to Stop Gun Violence as Part of NIL Deal

Hoosiers For Good 501(c)3 non-profit and 114 Indiana football players launched their NIL social media campaign last week in support of Stop the Violence Indianapolis to shed light on gun violence awareness in Indiana communities.

Hoosiers For Good

BLOOMINGTON, Ind. — On Wednesday, 114 Indiana football players and Hoosiers For Good kicked off a campaign encouraging fans and their communities on social media to stop gun violence, supporting Stop the Violence Indianapolis.

These football players partnered with Hoosiers For Good as part of an NIL deal and are responsible for posting 3-5 preventative social media posts on any platform until the campaign ends in December.

Hoosiers For Good is a 501(c)3 nonprofit that partners charities with student athletes who can use their voices and influence to better serve Indiana communities.

"It's really important to expose these young people to important causes," executive director of Hoosiers For Good Tyler Harris said.

Indiana football and Hoosiers For Good partner with Stop the Violence Indianapolis / Hoosiers For Good

Stop the Violence Indianapolis is led by executive director Anthony Beverly who started this work more than 20 years ago. The organization itself has been around since 2006.

"Our mission is to be a catalyst for social change, empowering people in high crime areas to overcome poverty and crime," Beverly said.

In Marion County alone, 550 young people are currently being prosecuted for gun-related crimes. Plus, black individuals are 14 times more likely to die from gun violence than their white peers. That's why preventative work must start now.

"It's starting to create a real buzz," Beverly said. "I'm expecting it to continue to grow. The other piece that I'm really hoping for with all of this is that people living in these areas where gun violence takes place will be inspired to start speaking up. They want to, but they're afraid."

In August, young athletes also started to speak up. Indiana basketball forwards Trayce Jackson-Davis and Race Thompson partnered with Stop the Violence Indianapolis too and spoke to a group of six Indianapolis-area high school basketball teams about preventing gun violence in their communities.

"I was concerned about the youth really focusing, but that was not a problem with Race and Trayce," Beverly said. "They had them locked in.

Thompson and Jackson-Davis had the kids so locked in that one high school basketball team had the idea to wear warm-up shirts with a powerful message. Hoosiers For Good is sponsoring the co-branded shirt that says "Hoosiers For Good + Stop the Violence Indianapolis #teamupforpeace."

Hoosiers For Good + Stope the Violence Indianapolis #TeamUpForPeace / Hoosiers For Good

After the successful talk with the high school teams, Harris and director Pete Yonkman proposed to Beverly that the football team join in through social media. The Hoosier football team has a combined reach of 500,000 followers on both Instagram and Twitter.

"They're (gun violence-affected citizens) waiting for leadership around this issue, so what better way than have an athlete say, 'it's wrong, let's take the right road'," Beverly said.

Beverly said gun violence often starts with conflict on social media. Many of Stop the Violence Indianapolis services are prevention based, and it is campaigns and efforts like this one that can add up to save lives.

"I thought if we could get some influential people on here encouraging youth and adults to take a different path, that would be great," Beverly said.

Athletes are encouraged to film a video of themselves or with teammates and share their stories, awareness and anything else they may seem fit to stop the issue.

Tiawan Mullen / Hoosiers For Good

"We want it to be really genuine and personal-experienced based," Harris said. "If you have a platform, you can potentially save somebody's life."

For example, Indiana running back Shaun Shivers made a video with three other players on the football field, each of them taking turns speaking on gun violence awareness.

"Gun violence has been affecting my community for so many years, and I feel like this is the correct time to stop it," Shivers said via Instagram. 

"If there's somebody that needs guidance, needs help or needs somebody to talk to, just know I'm here for you, and we can work through this together," linebacker Cam Jones added from his own Instagram page.

If you want to help the campaign, join in on the conversation sharing your stories with #TeamUpForPeace on social media, volunteer with Stop the Violence Indianapolis or give back to the campaign by funding prevention, intervention, retention and recovery programs.

"(Victims) are waiting for leadership around this issue, so what better way than have an athlete say, 'it's wrong, let's take the right road'," Beverly said.