The news is official - Jason Johnson has thrown in his Essendon guernsey and traded it for a
Johnson will represent the Essendon Football Club as he joins former Wallaby, Brendan Cannon, and former Brisbane Bronco, Gorden Tallis, to play a leading role in encouraging the men of
The trio of sporting ambassadors will all feature in this year’s advertising campaign running across television, radio and print called ‘Worth the Embarrassment’.
To demonstrate their commitment to the White Ribbon Day cause and highlight the shocking statistics of violence against women in Australia - where almost half of all women will be victims of physical or sexual abuse in their lifetime - all three players agreed to be photographed and filmed wearing their key-opposition’s jerseys.
The players admit this is an embarrassing thing to have to do, but not nearly as embarrassing as
By wearing a guernsey which would normally be unthinkable, the players hope to show their supporters how serious the problem of violence against women really is.
Long-time Essendon midfielder, Jason Johnson, said he is happy to don the opposition’s colours in order to get the message out to Australian men.
“I’m sure Essendon supporters never thought they would see me in a
“But faced with these statistics about violence against women, I’m more than happy to make a fool of myself if it helps to get the message across to men.”
Johnson will attend today’s launch of this year’s advertising campaign, which will break nationally today, and will run through the entire month leading up to White Ribbon Day on Sunday 25 November.
White Ribbon Foundation Chairman Andrew O’Keefe is extremely pleased at the players’ willingness to get involved and help raise awareness.
“In a campaign such as this which works to eliminate violence against women in
“Nothing appeals to the Australian male more than sport, and we are incredibly grateful to Brendan, Jason and Gorden for lending their profiles to our cause for this year’s campaign.
