SepLember 21, 2014

ur. kelLh Crowley

resldenL, MlAA
rlnclpal, SL. !ohn's reparaLory Plgh School
72 Sprlng SLreeL
uanvers, MA 01923

Mr. uavld klng
vlce resldenL, MlAA
ALhleLlc ulrecLor, ALhol Plgh School
2363 Maln SLreeL
ALhol, MA 01331

"#$ %&'()*'+ ', -).'+/ ('0*1*2- 3/3*+-) )22+ &3)*+/ 4*'02+12

We are wrlLlng Lo urge Lhe MassachuseLLs lnLerscholasLlc ALhleLlc AssoclaLlon (MlAA) Lo adopL
new pollcles Lo beLLer educaLe sLudenL-aLhleLes and prevenL lnsLances of Leen daLlng vlolence.

1he recenL acLs of domesLlc vlolence commlLLed by players ln Lhe naLlonal looLball League have
shlned a llghL on a problem LhaL has lmpacLed far Loo many famllles for far Loo long. 1he acLlons by
Lhese professlonal aLhleLes, and Lhe lnsufflclenL response by Lhe naLlonal looLball League, have senL
Lhe wrong message Lo our young people abouL Lhe serlousness of domesLlc vlolence and vlolence
agalnsL women.

We know LhaL Leen daLlng vlolence already ls a pervaslve problem among our sLudenLs.
Accordlng Lo LovelsrespecL.org, nearly 1.3 mllllon hlgh school sLudenLs experlence physlcal abuse from
a daLlng parLner. Cne ln four hlgh school glrls have been vlcLlms of physlcal or sexual abuse. And
vlcLlms of vlolenL relaLlonshlps as Leenagers are aL a hlgher rlsk of sufferlng from eaLlng dlsorders,
subsLance abuse, and belng furLher vlcLlms of domesLlc vlolence.

1he mlsslon of Lhe MlAA ls Lo promoLe lnLerschool aLhleLlcs LhaL provlde llfelong and llfe-
quallLy learnlng experlences Lo sLudenLs." As parL of LhaL mlsslon, Lhe MlAA has Laken sLrong, poslLlve
sLeps Lo educaLe sLudenL-aLhleLes abouL Lhe dangers of drugs, alcohol, and hazlng.

We urge you now Lo conslder adopLlng slmllarly sLrong pollcles agalnsL Leen daLlng
vlolence. We undersLand LhaL Lhe MlAA has already offered Lralnlngs on Lhls lssue and many coaches
have Laken lL upon Lhemselves Lo dlscuss Leen daLlng vlolence wlLh Lhelr players. 1hese are all poslLlve
sLeps, and we belleve Lhe MlAA could Lake furLher sLeps Lo dlrecLly communlcaLe wlLh all sLudenL-
aLhleLes across Lhe CommonwealLh. lor lnsLance, we belleve all sLudenL-aLhleLes should recelve
lnsLrucLlon abouL Lhe prevenLlon of and consequences arlslng from Leen daLlng vlolence prlor Lo each
aLhleLlc season. Lach sLudenL-aLhleLe would Lhen pledge LhaL Lhey wlll noL commlL acLs of Leen daLlng
vlolence as a condlLlon of parLlclpaLlng ln hlgh school aLhleLlcs. ollcles llke Lhese already exlsL for
behavlors around hazlng, and we belleve Lhe MlAA should Lake a slmllar sLand around Leen daLlng
vlolence.

1hese new pollcles wlll help educaLe sLudenL-aLhleLes abouL healLhy relaLlonshlps, spark a
dlalogue beLween Lhe sLudenLs and Lhelr coaches, and send a sLrong message abouL Lhe serlousness of
Leen daLlng vlolence. lL wlll also help sLudenL-aLhleLes lead by example ln Lhelr schools by promoLlng a
culLure of respecL among Lhelr peers. We hope schools wlll conslder slmllar pollcles as condlLlons for
sLudenL parLlclpaLlon ln oLher exLra-currlcular acLlvlLles such as sLudenL governmenL, LheaLer, and
more.

We are happy Lo asslsL wlLh you ln any way we can as you conslder posslble nexL sLeps. We
look forward Lo a poslLlve dlalogue wlLh Lhe MlAA abouL Lhls lmporLanL lssue and Lhe chance for
MassachuseLLs hlgh school aLhleLlcs Lo lead where Lhe nlL and Lhe nCAA has falled Lo do so. 1hank you
for your conslderaLlon.


Slncerely,



MarLha Coakley Maura Pealey
ALLorney Ceneral uemocraLlc nomlnee for ALLorney Ceneral