BETTERHELP | STOP THE MADNESS

Every game, athletes aren’t just competing against their opponents. Thanks to social media and a rise of legalized sports gambling, they’re also up against a flood of online hate. An NCAA study found that 1 in 3 high-profile athletes receive abusive messages, with female athletes facing three times the amount. During last year’s NCAA March Madness tournament alone, 50,232 abusive social comments were directed at female athletes.

To take a stand against online harassment and the toll it takes on student athlete mental health, BetterHelp launched Stop The Madness.

We kicked off the campaign with an earned media stunt that hijacked the most photographed moment of the tournament: the tunnel walk. Three star players, Kiki Rice, Zoe Brooks, and Chance Gray, wore a custom varisty jacket that did more than make a fashion statement. It delivered our message and put StopTheMadness.org front and center in every photo op.

At StopTheMadness.org, we turned awareness into action, educating visitors about the online hate facing female players and offering tools to fight back. Most importantly, BetterHelp offered every NCAA student-athlete free therapy for one month.