Pro wrestling features athletes who are performers, and we all know that there are a lot of athletes and performers who are jerks. But Mick Foley isn’t one of them. The veteran wrestler is now donating half the proceeds from his latest book to survivors of rape in Sierra Leone (through Child Fund International). The other half is being donated to RAINN.
But Foley’s support of victims of rape and abuse isn’t stopping with money. He’s also donating his time as an online counselor for RAINN:
They have my first name when they sign in. There are times when the [screen] goes dead. Some women understandably may not want to talk to a man. But for the young lady I talked to, I think she appreciated my perspective. I told her I have four children, including a daughter about her age. She was very worried about what her parents might think. In those cases you have to continually reassure victims that they are victims. We let them know how brave it is for them to reach out for help.
It would be easy for Foley to live in comfort, to take the proceeds from his books and invest them in himself, to use his fame as a wrestler to make his life easy. Instead, he drives a 2002 minivan because it works (and because, he says, it helps teach his kids that nice things aren’t everything), and he donates his time and money to helping make the world a better place for victims of sexual abuse.
I don’t know about you, but I think Mick Foley has figured out what this whole life thing is supposed to be about.
Thank you for this post. I just signed up for the online training to be a counselor. It’s funny how some things can be so important to you, but still fall by the wayside in your life. I’m rectifying that now.
Makes me think of the quote from Roger Ebert in his recent blog:
“I believe that if, at the end of it all, according to our abilities, we have done something to make others a little happier, and something to make ourselves a little happier, that is about the best we can do. To make others less happy is a crime. To make ourselves unhappy is where all crime starts. We must try to contribute joy to the world. That is true no matter what our problems, our health, our circumstances. We must try. I didn’t always know this, and I am happy that I lived long enough to find it out.”
I was amused by how RAINN’s initial press release about Mick Foley volunteering for them began (paraphrased):
Context for non-wrestling fans: Mick Foley’s career was characterised by losing, repeatedly and spectacularly, showing off his incredible pain tolerance more than anything else. An incredible entertainer, and I’m incredibly pleased that he’s doing such a great thing (although not totally surprised – he’s always been a stand-up guy); but if there’s one thing Foley’s used to, it’s losing.