Petrie was joined by teammate Daniel Wells, AFL CEO Andrew Demetriou and players from other clubs at a breakfast to show the football community's support for White Ribbon Day; a program that encourages men from all walks of life to join together to eliminate violence against women and children.
“It’s a show of strength and belief with so many AFL players coming along this morning, and the AFL as a whole representing the message that there’s no tolerance for any form of violence against women," said Petrie.
“So when I got asked to come, along with Daniel, we had no hesitation in coming along.
“Every so often you get asked to come to a social occasion as an appearance and sometimes it’s a bit of a drain, a bit of a drag. But this one is a cause we both feel strongly about, and that’s why we’ve come along this morning.”
The 26-year-old said it was important to have high-profile people like footballers involved in the campaign.
“I think it can work in a positive way, especially for younger people, where they’re still learning life and values of life.
“Some people who have been around for a while, it’s hard to change their opinions on things, but if we can mainly focus our attention towards the younger generation of people and change them while we’ve still got the chance to, I think they’re the people to look to.”
AFL CEO Andrew Demetriou said the League was working to get the message out at all levels of the game.
“The respect and responsibility policy has been instrumental in engaging the players and clubs in actively working to change attitudes and behavior. That program, after being introduced to AFL clubs, is now being piloted at community clubs,” Demetriou said.
A number of AFL players have become 'Respect and Responsibility Ambassadors', and some -- including Jonathon Brown and Brad Johnson -- have lent their voices to pre-recorded ground announcements for the 2009 season informing spectators about the policy.
“It is again further evidence of our players wanting to be part of the solution,” Demetriou said.
