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NCAA wrestling champ Anthony Robles speaks at ASU "Rally for Respect"

Anthony Robles chats with students after the "Rally For Respect" at Wells Fargo Arena on Thursday.
Anthony Robles chats with students after the "Rally For Respect" at Wells Fargo Arena on Thursday.

Anthony Robles chats with students after the "Rally For Respect" at Wells Fargo Arena Thursday. Anthony Robles chats with students after the "Rally For Respect" at Wells Fargo Arena on Thursday.

In wake of Baltimore Ravens running back Ray Rice's recent suspension for assaulting his then-fiance Janay Palmer back on Feb. 15, an ASU student organization hosted a "Rally for Respect" at Wells Fargo Arena Thursday night.

"Man Up ASU" is a club focused on empowerment and civility towards women, which was joined with "Wow Factor" to encourage members to abide by the group's values of appreciation and admiration.

A telling statistic has become the tagline of the Man Up campaign: one in four women will experience a completed or attempted sexual assault before they graduate college, per a report from the U.S. Department of Justice.

The hashtag "#nomore1in4" is an even more succinct way of expressing WOW Factor's mission statement from its Twitter biography, which reads:

"Reject devaluing messages. Declare others' worth. Influence through respect."

The clear goal for those behind the two groups was to unify students with a clear purpose, to reverse the "culture of disrespect" and the "one in four" statistic as cited in one of the multiple video presentations that evening, which featured ASU women's basketball coach Charli Turner-Thorne and football coach Todd Graham.

Also in attendance were a group of Red Mountain High School students, with their own "Man Up" organization that has grown to include approximately 800 students out of the 3,300 enrolled in total.

https://twitter.com/manupasu/status/510253611943616514

David Elenes, a graduate in Public Policy from ASU, came back to volunteer for Man Up.

"I think it's awesome, and nationally, (sexual assault) is a huge issue," Elenes said. It's exciting, to have some one with national recognition come to speak to us and serve as a role model. It gives our movement credibility."

The crowd of approximately 800 students at Wells Fargo Arena was greeted by a surprise guest: national champion wrestler and three-time All-American Anthony Robles.

https://twitter.com/ARobles125/status/510267623276171264

"When I heard about the respect movement, it got my wheels turning," Robles said. "I thought about the (one in four) statistic, and wondered: 'Man, what if she (Robles' sister Ronnie) was that one?'"

Robles told the story of his abusive stepfather father, and the difficulties of growing up with his younger brothers and his sister. He said that his stepfather's behavior was an example which he knew not to follow.

"I knew I didn't want to be like (my stepfather)," Robles said. "I still loved him, but I could not respect him."

His mother, on the other hand, had the challenge of raising four children— essentially as a single parent.

"My mother and I don't always agree on everything, we don't have a perfect relationship," Robles said. " But I would do anything for her. That's how I define respect."

CLARIFICATION: A previous version of this story said that one in four women were rape victims on college campuses. The statistic has been corrected in the story and is corroborated by a report from the U.S. Department of Justice.

Reach the assistant sports editor at smodrich@asu.edu or follow him on Twitter @StefanJModrich


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