Steelers CB William Gay teams up with Joe Biden to end violence against women

Steelers cornerback William Gay has a new teammate — former vice president Joe Biden.

Gay’s mother, Carolyn Hall, was killed by her boyfriend in a tragic murder-suicide when he was just 8 years old. Now he’s honoring his mother’s memory by teaming up with Biden and his foundation to end domestic violence and violence against women.

“Vice President Biden and I share the belief that, as a society, we can end violence against women,” Gay said via a release on the foundation’s website. “In order to do that, however, we have to start engaging in conversations where we hold each other — and ourselves — accountable. We hope to spur some of those discussions today, and keep them going as we work toward a safer tomorrow.”

Gay has been named to a Biden Foundation advisory board that’s focused on ending violence against women. The former vice president and Gay will address over 3,000 members of fraternities and sororities at the Association of Fraternal Leadership and Values on Friday to talk about stopping the rampant problem of sexual assaults on college campuses:

Gay said that to end violence against women, we have to first be willing to discuss it.

“It’s not embarrassing to let someone know or to try to help someone,” Gay said, according to Kelley D. Evans of The Undefeated. “The more you talk about it, the more you get people comfortable; that’s the first ring of trying to eliminate these problems.”

What happened to Gay’s mother is a sadly familiar story. She was killed after taking the courageous step of leaving the abusive relationship, Gay wrote for Sports Illustrated in 2014. Up to 75 percent of women who lose their lives to intimate partner violence are killed after they leave the relationship.

Gay wants to help women who might find themselves in the same situation his mother was in.

“I don’t think my mom knew people that would help, because this was back in 1992,” Gay said. “This is my way of allowing her story to stay alive, her to be alive, and also her story helps someone else.”

When Gay first received the letter from Biden about joining his advisory board, he thought it couldn’t be real.

“I received a letter, and when I saw ‘Joe Biden’ on it, I’m like, ‘OK, this might be a false letter,’” Gay told Evans. “But then my agent told me about it and then the NFL also told me about, so then I was like, ‘OK, it’s real.’”

How would Gay’s mother feel about this?

“I think my mom would be proud I am doing this,” Gay said, per the Steelers’ website. “I am proud that her story is living on because I get to keep telling it. I will be able to share that with 3,000 students. This is why I wanted to do it, to keep her name alive and help someone in her situation.”

Gay’s commitment to ending domestic violence goes way back. He’s been a regular speaker and volunteer at women’s shelters. He was fined $5,787 in Oct. 2015 for defying the league’s dress code by wearing purple cleats with a yellow Nike swoosh. October is domestic violence awareness month, and the cleats — in the official color of the cause — were meant to raise awareness.

Since the league instituted the My Cause, My Cleats initiative, Gay has worn the purple cleats to support the Women’s Center and Shelter of Greater Pittsburgh and The Refuge House in his hometown of Tallahassee, Fla.

The NFL has a checkered and inconsistent history of handling situations of players committing violence against women. It needs more men like Gay who are willing to use their voices to change the culture not just in the league, but in our society, and end violence against women once and for all.