Pro Footballer Advocates For Domestic Violence Survivors

Pro football player James Smith-Williams heard an advocate named Brenda Tracy speak about surviving a rape by college football players while he was a student at North Carolina State University. She shared a message that deeply resonated with him. “Her biggest takeaway was, if you’re a good man, what are you doing to be a good man?’ That really stuck with me” Smith-Williams said.

The 25-year-old defensive end for the Washington Commanders has committed himself to raising awareness and supporting survivors of sexual and domestic violence issues. In 2019, he founded the Champions program of Brenda Tracy’s nonprofit Set The Expectation to create a global network of current and former athletes using the power of their platforms to champion community agencies and groups who serve families and survivors of sexual assault and domestic violence.

The network raises money and awareness for nonprofits that support survivors. To date, Champions have helped raise $117,000 for programs and served over 2,200 children. $80,000 was given directly to local Washington DC survivor support and advocacy programs for their most needed projects. $37,000 went directly to buying items to support local DC drives and events.

James has organized multiple events and taken every opportunity possible to use his platform to raise awareness and give to survivors and their families. During October’s Domestic Violence Awareness Month, he’s supporting the Purple Leash Project, an initiative by Purina and the nonprofit RedRover to help domestic violence shelters become pet-friendly.

Smith-Williams said he got involved with the initiative because he was dismayed to learn that only about 15% of domestic violence shelters currently allow pets and almost half of the people who are in domestic violence situations delay leaving because of their pet. “They have nowhere to go with their pet but pets are family too” he said. James says he fully understands his individual ability to make a difference and the transformational power of athletes coming together for a cause, and it is for this reason that he founded the Champions program.