• Initiative Created by ESPN and Supported by X Games and Major League Baseball Seeks to Eliminate Bullying by Encouraging Kids to Choose Kindness
• Select Schools in Boston, New York, and Oakland Join Those in Bristol (CT), Los Angeles and Pittsburgh as well as Multiple Cities in Colorado and Minnesota to Implement the No Bully Methodology for the 2019-2020 Academic Year
• Historically, Shred Hate Schools Supported by ESPN, X Games and 13 MLB Clubs have Helped Significantly Remediate Bullying Instances

ESPN, X Games and Major League Baseball today announced the addition of four MLB Clubs to the Shred Hate initiative, a multi-faceted, innovative bullying prevention program striving to put an end to bullying in schools by encouraging youth to choose kindness. The Clubs that will support Shred Hate bullying prevention efforts, and have the No Bully methodology implemented within select schools in their markets throughout the 2019-2020 academic year, are the Boston Red Sox, New York Mets, New York Yankees and Oakland Athletics. The Los Angeles Dodgers and Pittsburgh Pirates are returning to the initiative for a second consecutive year.

ESPN launched the Shred Hate initiative in January 2017 at X Games Aspen and has since reached nearly 90,000 students. Historically, the No Bully methodology utilized by Shred Hate has been able to remediate more than 90 percent of bullying instances. Nearly 30,000 students will be reached through the program in the next academic year.

No Bully, a nonprofit that trains schools how to activate student compassion to eradicate bullying and cyberbullying, will work directly with local school districts in Boston, New York, Oakland and Pittsburgh. This is in addition to No Bully continuing its work with schools in Colorado, Connecticut, California and Minnesota, and providing continued learning opportunities to existing Shred Hate schools in previous MLB Club markets. Previous MLB Clubs who have participated in the initiative include the Chicago Cubs, Chicago White Sox, Los Angeles Angels, Los Angeles Dodgers, Minnesota Twins, Philadelphia Phillies, Texas Rangers, and Washington Nationals.

Through Shred Hate, cooperating schools and youth-focused programs utilize the “No Bully System®,” a non-disciplinary, innovative model that guides K-12 school leaders, teachers, and youth sports administrators through an integrated series of leadership coaching sessions, teacher trainings and parent workshops to create and sustain a bully-free culture for the long term. The No Bully System® provides an alternative to suspension or discipline, and rather promotes an environment revolving around cooperation and respect to ensure compliance with state and federal anti-bullying laws. A No Bully facilitator, who will be assigned to each participating school and program, will travel to administer trainings around the No Bully Coaching Leadership Team Guide and be available throughout the program for support. No Bully is providing schools with specific social and emotional trainings for students, school site staff, leadership teams, parents, and the community. Social and emotional resources, such as strategies and lesson plans, are an additional and integral part of the training for teachers. The importance of social and emotional learning is recognized on a global level. Organizations such as UNESCO and many employers promote social and emotional learning, understanding the need for compassionate thinkers who can effectively and seamlessly work with others.

An out-of-school Shred Hate­ module is also utilized for after-school and summer programs, or wherever youth may experience bullying. The lessons, available for download at www.MLB.com/ShredHate, are designed to last approximately 20-30 minutes each and are complementary to the No Bully System® in-school methodology. The out-of-school module is implemented through RBI programs nationwide as well as through the MLB Youth Academy network in multiple cities throughout the United States. Shred Hate also includes a new module specifically designed to train student athletes and coaches to be champions against bullying. These athletes will learn how to be “upstanders” and lead schools in their bullying prevention efforts. ESPN and MLB will continue to collaborate with No Bully on its methodology, and will support the initiative through various multimedia platforms and other promotional activities, including public service announcements featuring Major League players.

Recently, All-Star first baseman for the New York Mets and 2019 T-Mobile Home Run Derby Champion Pete Alonso joined five-time X Games medalist Gus Kenworthy in taping a public service announcement (PSA) as part of this campaign, which runs on DoSomething.org through September 15, 2019. The PSA encourages young people to take action against cyberbullying, which affects 59% of U.S. teens (according to Pew Research Center). The PSA features Alonso and Kenworthy relating their personal experiences with cyberbullying and encouraging viewers to take action whenever they see it happen in their daily lives. The PSA, which is currently LIVE on YouTube and appears across ESPN media platforms and through MLB digital channels (e.g., MLB.com and social media), can be viewed HERE. DoSomething.org, the largest tech company exclusively for young people and social change, is promoting the campaign through its digital channels – DoSomething.org, Facebook, Instagram, Twitter, email newsletters, and more. The campaign specifically encourages young people to report negative, otherwise known as “trolling” or “bullying,” actions or accounts on social media platforms by using available tools provided by each platform.

Program monitoring and evaluation plays a central role in Shred Hate. Key performance indicators will include, but are not limited to, the following: reduced solution of incidents of bullying, reduction of severity and incidents of bullying, active student engagement in solutions, active parent/guardian and community engagement in bullying resolution, and additional positive shifts in behavior.

In a study by the Centers for Disease Control and the U.S. Department of Education, nearly one in four students – more than 10 million total students – report being bullied each year in the United States. 

About ESPN Corporate Citizenship
ESPN believes that, at its very best, sports uplifts the human spirit. Its corporate citizenship programs use power of sport to positively address society’s needs through strategic community investments, cause marketing programs, collaboration with sports organizations and employee volunteerism, while also utilizing its diverse media assets. For more information go to www.espn.com/citizenship.

About No Bully

No Bully is a nonprofit organization that ignites compassion to eradicate bullying and cyberbullying worldwide. Founded in San Francisco in 2003, No Bully was started by a collaborative team of educators, psychologists and lawyers committed to building a kinder and more compassionate world through ending the crisis of bullying in schools and online. Since its founding, No Bully has had a 90% success rate eliminating bullying in schools, serving hundreds of thousands of students in the US, and partnering with institutions, families, parents, and students to teach the good use of power by empowering voice, compassion toward others, and inclusivity. With corporate strategic partners, No Bully has reached millions of individuals globally with innovative and design-led campaigns and programs.

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Contact: Belen Michelis, ESPN, (860) 766-1425, [email protected]
Steven Arocho, Major League Baseball, (212) 931-7581, [email protected]