Former NFL QB Says 'What Being a Man Means' At CWU

April 22, 2005

Contact: Mal Stewman (509-963-2122/fax 509-963-2128/e-mail: ecenter@cwu.edu)

ELLENSBURG, Wash. - It's among the cruelest comments that can be made to adolescent boys: "You throw like a girl!" It's also the title of a presentation slated for Tuesday, May 3, at 7 p.m. in the Samuelson Union Building (SUB) Ballroom at Central Washington University.

The goal of this presentation, by Don McPherson, founder and executive director of the Adelphi University Sports Leadership Institute, is to help prevent of all forms of men's violence towards women through increasing awareness of ways in which boys and men are raised to conform to traditional masculinity roles.

McPherson earned All-American football recognition at Syracuse University, where he set 22 school records between 1983 and 1987. During his senior season, he led the NCAA in passing, was a consensus All-America selection and received the Maxwell Award, for the nation's top collegiate player, and Johnny Unitas Award, which goes to the nation's outstanding collegiate quarterback.

Despite his gridiron success, McPherson stated, during an appearance on "The Oprah Winfrey Show," that he never cared much for the tough-guy attitude exhibited by and expected of football players.

"I had to carry myself in a different way, sometimes not showing emotion, not showing weakness or any kind of vulnerability," he said on the TV program. "It meant being in control all of the time. Most people expected me to be shallow and a womanizer. I struggled with who I really was on the inside versus my need to be a part of the guys who were cool."

While playing professionally in the National Football League and Canadian Football League, McPherson began what has become a 17-year career creating presentations and programs to confront societal issues, particularly gender violence.

His interactive CWU presentation will allow participants to discuss their examples of how masculinity is learned and reinforced through language, media, social and cultural influences.

For more information about the free, public event, sponsored by the CWU empowerment center, or for persons of disability to arrange for reasonable accommodation, call (509) 963-2122, or (for the hearing impaired) TDD (509) 963-2143.