The Essendon District Football League and Pat Cronin Foundation are officially partnering for three years to raise awareness and deliver education within the sporting world to end senseless violence.
The Foundation was established in the memory of Pat Cronin who, at 19 years old, tragically lost his life on Saturday 16 April 2016 after he was punched in the head from behind in a ‘coward punch’ incident.
The partnership between the Pat Cronin Foundation and the Essendon District Football League will see all EDFL clubs being recognised as ‘Be Wise’ accredited clubs, with each club committing to at least one Be Wise presentation.
All EDFL clubs will also receive at ground signage to indicate that they are part of the "Be Wise" campaign.
“The EDFL are delighted to be partnering with the Pat Cronin Foundation," said EDFL Chief Executive Ian Kyte.
"Together with our clubs the EDFL aim to lift the awareness and will work with the Pat Cronin Foundation to eradicate this senseless action in our community.
We look forward to working with all at the Pat Cronin Foundation and to join them in their initiatives to promote awareness in all sporting clubs.”
Matt Cronin, Founding Director of The Pat Cronin Foundation and Pat’s father said:
“We are very pleased to announce our community partnership with the EDFL for the next 3 years.
Pat loved playing football and the lessons learnt in playing sport including teamwork, respect and resilience and we see partnerships with community sporting leagues as a great way to reach more young Australians.
We look forward to working with clubs within the EDFL to spread our Be Wise message, so no other family must suffer the loss of a loved one as we have.
Let’s End the Coward Punch together”.
The Pat Cronin Foundation vision is simple—a world free from the Coward Punch.
They work to achieve this vision by providing an optimistic voice and empowering approach to awareness, education, and research—working with schools, clubs, community groups and young people to End the Coward Punch together.
The EDFL stands for playing by the spirit of the game across all our men’s, women’s, and junior competitions within our league.
The EDFL is committed to improving community standards by educating and supporting our clubs and participants on what it means to show leadership and respect towards one another.
Find out more about the Pat Cronin Foundation HERE
