Indianapolis Colts coach Frank Reich is heading to Los Angeles this week but not because of the Super Bowl. His team missed the playoff cut, but his mission is more important than football.
Reich is joining others who are fighting child sexual abuse and trafficking — a sinister crime that is connected to high-profile events like the battle between the AFL and NFL unfolding on February 13.
“This is one of the most horrific crimes,” Reich said on the AP Pro Football Podcast. “Children who are actually looking to adults to protect them and nurture them and help them to grow up to live mature, holistic lives are the actual ones who adults are using — that trust the children are placing in them and then exploiting them and abusing them for their own good. It doesn’t get any worse than that.”
INDIANAPOLIS, INDIANA – NOVEMBER 10: Head coach Frank Reich of the Indianapolis Colts holds his granddaughter before the game between the Indianapolis Colts and Miami Dolphins at Lucas Oil Stadium on November 10, 2019, in Indianapolis, Indiana. (Photo by Justin Casterline/Getty Images)
According to a member of the Saved in America Advisory Board, it is also a huge problem:
An estimated 25 million people worldwide are victims of human trafficking. Child sex trafficking has been reported in all 50 U.S. States and is the second largest underground black-market industry in the country, following drug trafficking. Sex trafficking generates an estimated $810 million a year.
The Bradenton Herald reported that Reich and his wife and their daughter Lia are working to raise money to help victims recover.
“We’re doing everything we can to prevent this from happening, but the reality is it’s still going on and in crazy numbers,” Reich said. “There’s a lot of people who are needing help. Even when a child is restored, when they’re rescued, there’s a lifelong battle to get back to full mental health.”
Demonstrators in Keene, New Hampshire, gather at a “Save the Children Rally” to protest child sex trafficking and pedophilia around the world on September 19, 2020. (Photo by JOSEPH PREZIOSO/AFP via Getty Images)
The Herald reported:
Former Dodgers general manager Kevin Malone formed The Alliance Against Human Trafficking and Exploitation, consisting of kNOT Today and four other groups. With support from the NFL and the Los Angeles Super Bowl Host Committee, the goal is to disrupt the illicit operations and assist victims.
‘We have a real problem in America, with our children being under attack, being targeted by predators, and it’s scary,’ said Malone, co-founder and CEO of the U.S. Institute Against Human Trafficking. ‘It’s evil and people aren’t talking enough about it.’
The Colts offer support through the Irsay Family’s ‘Kicking the Stigma’ initiative, which raises awareness about mental health disorders. ‘It’s such a blessing for us to be connected right with them,’ Reich said. Reich’s NFL journey has included stops in many cities. He played for the Bills, Panthers, Jets and Lions and served as an assistant coach for the Colts, Cardinals, Chargers and Eagles. Along the way, the Reichs discovered child trafficking is prevalent across the country.
“It’s everywhere. It knows no boundaries,” Reich said. “We all know the international things, and we’ve seen the movies, and we’ve seen the statistics and the clips, which keep us up at night. But there’s equally bad stuff going on in neighborhoods that are right near us that are all over U.S. cities, smaller trafficking rings of children being sexually abused and exploited in horrific ways. That’s what we have found out more than anything.
“So, we’re really taking a multi-level approach. It is grassroots, boots on the ground in these small communities making a difference, but also using the NFL platform to have a major impact on a national and international level,” Reich said.
“Reich and the Colts had a disappointing finish to their season, losing the last two games to finish 9-8 and fall one win short of the playoffs. But Reich says the team isn’t ‘far off’ from being a Super Bowl contender,” the Herald reported.
“Looking back on the end of the season, it was rough, but you learn from it,” he said. “A little bit of it will linger. We’ll remember and use it as motivation going forward.”
Follow Penny Starr on Twitter
COMMENTS
Please let us know if you're having issues with commenting.