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WHEREAS, Coaching Boys Into Men is a program that gives high school athletic coaches the tools that they need to address and inform their athletes on topics including respectful relationships, consent, harassment and sexual assault, appropriate use of technology and social media, and anger management; and
WHEREAS, Pittsburgh Action Against Rape (PAAR) is a non-profit organization dedicated to assisting victims of sexual abuse and ending sexual violence, that among many other services, recruits administrators and coaches to participate in the Coaching Boys Into Men program; and
WHEREAS, with the information from a PAAR presentation for coaches and the advice of PAAR representative Bernie Colbert, Coach Lenny Orbovich recognized the importance of the program and introduced Coaching Boys Into Men for football players and wrestlers at Carrick High School; and
WHEREAS, once a week, Coach Orbovich and his athletes meet for 15-30 minutes on this important and difficult series of issues, and though the environment can be uncomfortable, his athletes have committed to the program; and
WHEREAS, though at first Coach Orbovich says that his athletes were indeed uncomfortable, over time they have grown more receptive and participatory, to the extent that his athletes now talk about the issues on their own and hold each other accountable for their behavior and language; and
WHEREAS, through his work, Coach Orbovich has shown that the Coaching Boys Into Men program can be remarkably successful, and that despite the difficult nature of material that needs to be discussed, it is possible and achievable to spread awareness of these topics among youth through concerted efforts to do so, such as through the Coaching Boys Into Men program.
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NOW, THEREFORE, BE IT RESOLVED, that the Council of the City of Pittsburgh hereby acknowledges Lenny Orbovich and Pittsburgh Action Against Rape for establishing the Coaching Boys Into Men program at Carrick HS, and for effectively spreading awareness of respectful relationships, consent, harassment and sexual assault, appropriate use of technology and social media, and anger management through the program; and
BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED, that the Council hereby declares Tuesday, November 28, 2017, “Coaching Boys Into Men Day- Carrick HS” in the City of Pittsburgh.