The National Education Association estimates that 160,000 children miss school every day due to fear of attack or intimidation by other students. With bullying on the rise it’s more important than ever for organizations to help fight back. At Comcast, social responsibility is a big part of our culture, so we are pleased to talk about today’s announcement from USA Network. Characters Unite is USA’s award-winning public service campaign. The program was created to address the social injustices and cultural divides still prevalent in our society. Today USA Network took another step forward in this mission.
USA Network and the NFL just announced the expansion of NFL Characters Unite. NFL stars such as Victor Cruz and J.J. Watt will share personal stories of prejudice and bullying with the goal of helping young people facing similar challenges. A new part of the program will be weekly on-air vignettes and webisodes on charactersunite.com.
Green Bay Packers wide receiver Randall Cobb starts the program discussing his mentoring of a teen boy named Tyson. Struggling with bullying Cobb serves as a role model for Tyson to help him ‘Never Say Never’ to his dreams.
"By sharing the profound stories of NFL players, we hope to inspire viewers to find the same strength and determination to combat hate and discrimination in their own lives and communities," said Toby Graff, USA’s senior vice president, public affairs.
The initiative will culminate with the third annual NFL Characters Unite one-hour documentary narrated by former NFL star and NBC Sunday Night Football Emmy®-winning sportscaster Cris Collinsworth. This will serve as the launch of Characters Unite Month, a time when the network shines a bright spotlight on the importance of promoting greater tolerance, respect and acceptance.
NFL Characters Unite was created by The Company and is executive produced by Charlie Ebersol and produced and directed by Paul Pawlowski.
We are proud of the work being done by USA and encourage everyone to share this great story. For more information stay connected to this campaign on Facebook, Twitter or at http://www.charactersunite.com.