Athletics Playbook

It’s On Us Playbook on Sexual Assault Prevention & Healthy Relationships for Male Student Athletes

The Playbook on Sexual Assault Prevention & Healthy Relationships is designed to empower male college athletes with the tools and resources they need to engage in healthy relationships, become active bystanders, and prevent campus sexual assault. The Playbook includes five high-impact hybrid workshops, digital resources for players and coaches, and virtual 1:1 consultations with the It’s On Us Director of Men’s Engagement, Kyle Richard.

How to Host Your Trainings

The Playbook contains five distinct workshops, each covering a distinct topic related to sexual assault prevention, building healthy relationships, and healing from trauma. Each workshop is approximately 25-40 minutes in length and includes icebreakers, questions for discussion, and opportunities for the athletes to share their own experiences.

The workshops are intended to be facilitated within an individual team setting, with no more than 50 athletes participating. For teams of more than 50 athletes, we recommend that teams be split into two groups (e.g., for football teams, splitting athletes between offense and defense).

The Workshops

This is the foundational workshop of The Playbook and should be completed prior to athletes participating in the four additional prevention programs. The remainder of The Playbook’s content builds on the knowledge athletes gain through participation in this first workshop. 

Athletes who complete this workshop will be able to:

  • Define consent, including verbal and non-verbal consent. 
  • Correctly identify situations in which consent has or has not been given.
  • Understand the scope and impact of campus sexual violence.
  • Correctly describe behaviors that constitute sexual assault, dating violence, domestic violence, stalking, and harassment.
  • Know how to navigate rejection.

This workshop addresses the spectrum of relationship experiences and how to set and respect boundaries in relationships. 

Athletes who complete this workshop will be able to:

  • Correctly identify if a relationship behavior is healthy, unhealthy, or abusive. 
  • Proactively address feelings of insecurity in a relationship.
  • How to navigate conflict and fight “fair” in relationships.
  • How to set their own and respect the boundaries of others in their relationships.

This workshop addresses the critical sexual assault and dating violence prevention topic of active bystander intervention. 

Athletes who complete this workshop will be able to:

  • Define what it means to be an active bystander.
  • Identify situations in which an active bystander can and should step in to stop a situation from becoming violent.
  • Identify the best active bystander method for themselves – and when a situation requires more than just one active bystander to get involved.

This workshop addresses breakups – from why they happen to how to cope with a breakup in a healthy and respectful manner. 

Athletes who complete this workshop will be able to:

  • Understand the complex reasons why relationships end.
  • Know how to end a relationship in a healthy and respectful manner.
  • Know how to end an unhealthy or abusive relationship in a way that is safe.
  • Have the tools and knowledge to cope with a breakup and get closure for a relationship that has ended.
  • Know how to support a friend or teammate going through a breakup.

This workshop addresses the various types of trauma someone may experience in their lifetime and what resources are available to support someone recovering from a traumatic experience. 

Athletes who complete this workshop will be able to:

  • Identify the types of trauma that someone can experience.
  • Recognize the symptoms of trauma manifesting in themselves or others.
  • Seek support for themselves or others who have experienced some form of trauma.
  • Effectively respond to someone else’s disclosure of a traumatic experience.

Resources for Coaches & Administrators