June 15, 2022 – Sport Law, a team of leaders devoted to elevating sport, and Respect Group, a company committed to educating all participants in sport through their Respect in Sport Learning platform, have been collaborating for over 12 years to advance a vision of a safe, welcoming and thriving sport environment. The company leaders have known each other since the early 2000s and have been mutually supportive of each other’s contributions to supporting sport leaders in addressing the risks in a manner that aligns with their values. Over the past few years, with a renewed sense of urgency to tackle issues related to maltreatment, the company leaders have met several times to both synergize and look for more proactive ways to support sport leaders in their pursuit of holistic organizational excellence.

Both companies are committed to supporting values-based education and consulting services that provides participants and leaders with the knowledge they need to make better decisions, and to know what to do when they experience maltreatment. Shared Dina Bell-Laroche, one of Sport Law’s Partners: “We are entering into a new era in sport that will make values the new currency. For decades Sport Law has been collaborating with like-hearted company leaders that believe in a better way, and we are inspired by the ongoing efforts of Sheldon, Wayne and the team at Respect Group who have pioneered a world-leading educational experience that empowers all participants to behave in accordance with stated values. To move beyond a focus on safety issues in sport requires empowered and educated leaders who believe in a better way. Our team at Sport Law want to do our part to promote exceptional organizations like Respect Group for their ongoing efforts to prevent maltreatment and to encourage values-driven sport.”

Sheldon Kennedy, one of the co-founders of Respect Group couldn’t agree more. Sheldon has spent the past 25 years advocating for proactive and values-based training that empowers all participants to speak out when they see evidence of maltreatment and as importantly, to model respect in all interactions. “I am proud of the work Respect Group has done to empower sport leaders to prevent bullying, abuse, harassment and discrimination (BAHD). I am also grateful to be able to collaborate with Sport Law who amplify our efforts through their work with sport leaders to ensure their culture is a healthy one. To me, monitoring and measuring culture through the Sport Culture Index, is an important “tool in the toolbox” to fuel true accountability. In addition, having the Sport Law Culture Coaches available to support leaders in their commitment to lead, compete, and coach by values further supports meaningful change.”

Powered by innerlogic’s innovative culture analytics and research base, Sport Law has launched the Sport Culture Index, an evidence-based assessment platform that quantifies culture in sport environments in the areas of safety, well-being, cohesion, empowerment, personalization, belonging, vision, values, environment, accountability, adaptability, and communication. The survey includes 60 quantitative questions, takes approximately 15 minutes to complete and provides a rigorous report of the sport’s culture across multiple levels and participants. The Sport Culture Index is supported by a comprehensive platform that allows for the most detailed analytics and visualizations of culture metrics available in the sport landscape today.

Respect Group has become Canada’s defacto standard for on-line “safe sport” training. The education is focused on preventing all forms of maltreatment, empowering stakeholders to “step up and step in” when necessary and giving good people involved in sport the tools to be even better. Respect Group has taken a holistic approach to certification by offering unique programs for each sport stakeholder group including Respect in Sport for Activity leaders (coaches), Respect in Sport for Parents, Respect in Sport for Officials, Stay in the Game (for 10-12 year old youth participants), Keeping Girls in Sport (for coaches and parents) and Respect in the Workplace (for Staff, Board and volunteers). Respect Group believes that to improve culture, programing needs to be a requirement to ensure everyone is on the same page.

Sport Law has served the sport sector for over three decades, providing unparalleled legal and leadership support to meet the growing demands of the sport sector. The organization provides exceptional consulting services including a growing number of leadership training and integral coaching support that serve to develop heightened levels of emotional intelligence, empathy, and high trust communications among participants. The Sport Law Culture Coaches are trained in the use of psychometric tools, strategic planning, risk management, complex system transformation, and group dynamics, among other skills.

Beyond putting out fires and dealing with declining values apparent in the sport sector today, Respect Group and Sport Law are working together to provide proactive, prevention-based solutions that addresses systemic risks, leverages existing strengths and restores high levels of trust.

-30-

About Sport Law
Sport Law has been providing strategic insight to the Canadian sport community since 1992. We offer a full range of consulting, leadership and legal services to the Canadian sport community. We are accessible, affordable, highly skilled, and bring experience and common sense to every project. Our vision is to help you achieve yours. To learn more about us please visit sportlaw.ca. For more information, please contact Dina Bell-Laroche at dblaroche@sportlaw.ca.

About Respect Group
Respect Group was incorporated in 2004 by co-founders, Sheldon Kennedy and Wayne McNeil, to pursue their common passion: the prevention of bullying, abuse, harassment and discrimination (BAHD). Respect Group is made up of a team of over 30 talented individuals whose passion is to create a global culture of Respect. As Canada’s leading on-line provider of prevention education related to BAHD, Respect Group has certified over 1.8 Million people involved in sport, schools and the workplace. Respect Group is a Certified B Corporation (bcorporation.net). For more information, please contact Wayne McNeil at wmcneil@respectgroupinc.com.