Fenway Sports Group Partners With United Nations and Eradicate Hate Global Summit to Combat Hate Speech Through Sports

2023-08-09 20:15

BOSTON--(BUSINESS WIRE)--Aug 9, 2023--

Fenway Sports Group (FSG) has partnered with the United Nations (U.N.) and the Eradicate Hate Global Summit to use its platforms, partnerships, and teams to help the U.N.’s Office on Genocide Prevention counter hate speech and hate-fueled extremism through the power of sports. The program is a collaboration with leagues and teams from around the world who have come together to create a Sports Working Group charged with developing best practices that sports organizations and communities can activate to combat hate.

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From left: Rishi Jain, Director of Impact at Liverpool F.C.; Michael Lara, Manager of Diversity, Equity, Inclusion, and Belonging, Boston Red Sox & Fenway Sports Management; Fenway Sports Group Partner Linda Henry; Alice Wairimu Nderitu, Under-Secretary-General and United Nations Special Advisor on the Prevention of Genocide. (Photo: Business Wire)

“Countering hate speech is a priority for the United Nations, and we want to create a global movement that teams and athletes can use to carry the anti-hate torch,” said Alice Wairimu Nderitu, Under-Secretary-General and United Nations Special Advisor on the Prevention of Genocide. “Sports is a powerful unifier that is both personal yet also universal and shared. We believe it can make a difference for fans to hear their favorite athletes, teams, and leagues speak with a unified voice condemning hate-fueled extremism.”

“For over a year, Fenway Sports Group has been working alongside the U.N. and the Eradicate Hate Global Summit to activate and connect the global sports community to this important work,” said Fenway Sports Group Partner Linda Henry. “The unspeakable acts of violence and cruelty that Special Advisor Nderitu and her team at the U.N. seek to combat have their roots in hate speech – something we all have the power to help address. The global sports community wields tremendous influence that can shift viewpoints and attitudes and our goal is to help the Special Advisor by using the power of sports to break through to communities in a way that transcends borders, languages, and cultures.”

Earlier this month FSG gathered members of the Sports Working Group in Boston, bringing together representatives from the region’s professional sports teams, universities, and non-profits. In addition to members from FSG’s sports teams (Boston Red Sox, Liverpool F.C., and Pittsburgh Penguins), attendees included the Boston Bruins, Boston Celtics, New England Patriots, New England Revolution, Harvard University, Emmanuel College, Roxbury Community College, and the Kraft Group’s Foundation to Combat Antisemitism. A similar convening was hosted by Liverpool F.C. this past April at Anfield Stadium with representatives from Premier League clubs and football authorities, and several major U.K. and U.S. sports teams, including Formula 1, Lawn Tennis Association (LTA), Major League Baseball (MLB), National Football League (NFL), National Hockey League (NHL), NASCAR, Rugby England, and Rugby Football League.

“The Sports Working Group’s strength lies with its incredible partners,” said Co-Chair of the Sports Working Group and the Eradicate Hate Global Summit Laura Ellsworth. “The global reach and influence of the U.N. and the expertise and urgency of the Eradicate Hate Global Summit are a great foundation, but without our friends at Fenway Sports Group who have introduced us to sports contacts around the world, this effort would not be as strong or impactful. We encourage sports organizations who want to be part of this critical effort to join us at this year’s Eradicate Hate Global Summit in Pittsburgh to ensure our effort can reach as many different communities as possible.”

The Sports Working Group will convene at this year’s Eradicate Hate Global Summit taking place September 27-29 in Pittsburgh. Organizations and individuals can register to attend by clicking here.

About Fenway Sports Group

Fenway Sports Group (FSG) is a global sports, marketing, media, entertainment, and real estate company anchored by three iconic clubs, the Boston Red Sox, Liverpool Football Club, and the Pittsburgh Penguins. FSG’s portfolio includes two of the world’s most historic venues, Fenway Park and Anfield Stadium, NASCAR’s RFK Racing, the new tech-forward golf team TGL Boston, regional sports network NESN, sports marketing and sponsorship sales firm Fenway Sports Management (FSM), and Fenway Sports Group Real Estate (FSGRE), that oversees the assets, acquisitions, and development of FSG properties. In March 2021, FSG entered a strategic partnership with RedBird Capital Partners, led by Gerry Cardinale, to pursue growth opportunities in sports that would enhance or extend FSG’s existing platform. For more information, visit www.fenwaysportsgroup.com.

About the United Nations United Nations Office on Genocide Prevention and the Responsibility to Protect

The office is aimed at strengthening the capacity of the United Nations to identify situations at risk of genocide, war crimes, ethnic cleansing and crimes against humanity (atrocity crimes), take early action to prevent them, and improve protection of populations. The office is the U.N.’s global focal point for hate speech. For more information go here.

About the Eradicate Hate Global Summit

The Summit is the most comprehensive anti-hate conference in the world. It unites experts and leaders from around the globe, who are dedicated to eradicating all forms of hate-fueled violence. The mission of the Summit is to identify and implement effective solutions for collective change. The Summit occurs each year in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, USA where the deadliest anti-sematic attack in U.S. history occurred in 2018. Eleven worshipers were killed, and several others severely wounded by an armed gunman at the city’s Tree of Life Synagogue. The Summit is committed to delivering solutions to address the hate-fueled extremism that led to the attack. For more information go here.

--FSG--

View source version on businesswire.com:https://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20230809089614/en/

CONTACT: FSG

Zineb Curran

media@fenwaysportsgroup.comEradicate Hate Global Summit

Deborah Keller Maxson

Deborah.maxson@kellermaxson.comUnited Nations

U.N. PR

osapg@un.org

KEYWORD: MASSACHUSETTS UNITED STATES NORTH AMERICA

INDUSTRY KEYWORD: HOCKEY BASKETBALL PHILANTHROPY BASEBALL SPORTS OTHER PHILANTHROPY GENERAL SPORTS

SOURCE: Fenway Sports Group