Transcript: Mayor de Blasio Announces $1.2 Million Donation From NY Giants Chairman Steve Tisch to Protect Student-Athletes

December 3, 2014

Mayor Bill de Blasio: Well, it is such a great pleasure to be here at Erasmus Hall. This is a legendary New York City school and, as a Brooklynite, it makes me particularly proud to be here. So much extraordinary history has happened in this place and we are proud today to open a new chapter – something really wonderful that's going to happen for our young people and our young athletes. I want to thank everyone at Erasmus Hall for hosting us. I particularly want to thank the athletic director, Evan Farkas, for the good work of the program here.

[Applause]

You're going to hear from some folks on my team who are doing important work to see through the good news that we're talking about today.

I also want to acknowledge someone who played an important role in bringing us today, Gabrielle Fialkoff, my Senior Advisor and Director of the Office of Strategic Partnerships. Thank you, Gabrielle, for your leadership. And I want to thank our elected officials who are here. I'd like to acknowledge two elected officials who represent this district – Council Member Mathieu Eugene and Assembly Member-elect, Rodneyse Bichotte. Let's thank them.

[Applause]

And a council member who's really been an outspoken voice for safety in all of our sports programs – Council Member Steve Levin, thank you for your support.

[Applause]

And you'll be hearing from our other leaders in just a moment.

You know, I think when you talk about sports and you talk about football, people think about different sports associated with different parts of the country. You talk about high school football – a lot of people's minds go to Texas. They have the big stadiums, the big programs, and everyone stops everything they're doing on Friday night. But you know what? In New York City as well, high school football is a very big deal. It means a lot to so many families. It means a lot to so many students. And it's part of the experience that so many young people have, part of their growth and part of their maturation, and something that they look forward to being a part of in their youth, and something that really contributes a lot to their futures.

And we're going to have a great example of this next week at Yankee Stadium. I'll give an example of football going to the highest level. High school football at Yankee Stadium next week – a match up of these two teams, Erasmus Hall and Abraham Lincoln High Schools. And I think these guys have worked really hard to get to that big stage, and I think they deserve a round of applause from all of us.

[Applause]

They're all very cool in the saddle. They do not look intimidated at all, the notion of playing in Yankee Stadium. I want to wish both teams very good luck in the game ahead. And you're not just going to see two strong and competitive teams, you're going to see the communities from each high school come out to support them. And you're going to see parents and friends come out for that incredible moment. It's an example of what high school athletics mean and particularly what it means for young people to have a chance to represent their school.

And there's so much young people get from sports. I've seen it with my two children. They started out young. Chiara started out when she was seven in different youth sports. Dante started out when he was five. It meant a lot to their development. They got a keen sense of teamwork and discipline and focus. Sports brings that out in young people. And for these young people to get to the level they are at now they've had to not only work hard, they've really had to be disciplined. They've had to learn a lot. And that's going to be something that sticks with them throughout their lives and helps them to be good at anything they do.

But we know – and I could tell you all parents feel this – we want our kids to get the benefit of sports, but we also want to make sure first and foremost they're safe – nothing more important to parents. And that's a concern you always have in mind. When you think about all the good that comes with sports, that only makes sense if you know your kids are going to be safe in the process.

Well, we today have an opportunity to breathe easier and know that our children are going to be safe pursuing the sport they love, because of the wonderful generosity of Steve Tisch. And Steve, I want to say on behalf of parents – particularly football parents – I want to just say a profound thank you to you. Because your generosity is going to make it a lot better for a lot of families as they watch these games and they're going to feel great about their kids participating. And you're also going to make sure a lot of young people have a great experience.

Steve, in an act of profound generosity, is donating $1.2 million dollars to help keep our student athletes healthy, our student football players healthy. And this donation will provide 53 certified trainers and EMTs to public school football programs. And they'll be there –

[Applause]

And this is what's so important about this donation – these professionals will not only be there for the games, they're going to be there for the practices as well. Whenever there's contact, this support will be there for our young people.

Because of Steve's generosity this effort is going to reach nearly 3,500 players, which is absolutely extraordinary. And the trainers involved will help the players proactively to avoid injury by helping them get in good shape. And, God forbid, any player is injured the professional help will be there immediately to make sure they're safe. You know, before this a lot of schools just didn't have the resources. They just didn't have the resources to make sure that all the support was there. They didn't have the ability to necessarily have trainers, certainly not for the practices. And that just wasn't fair. Some schools had them, other schools didn't. But Steve has stepped in to make sure that there's fairness and equality among all of our schools.

Now, Steve, I hope you don't mind me saying that you come by generosity naturally, being a member of the Tisch family. This family has done extraordinary things for New York City. But we have to always remember the origins of this family right here in Brooklyn. And the previous generation started this extraordinary devotion to this city. Bob Tisch and his brother Larry were middle class Brooklyn boys that worked their way up, but never forgot where they came from. In fact, Bob came from right here – Erasmus Hall. This was his school.

[Applause]

And Steve and his siblings have continued this extraordinary tradition in their generation, giving back in so many ways. And not only are they supporting this effort to make sure we can help keep our football players safe, they've also shown a devotion to this school, provided the funds to renovate all of the gyms here at Erasmus Hall. And that means a lot to the whole school community here.

[Applause]

Now Steve also honors and adds to the family tradition and the family passion, not just for helping others but the passion for football. Bob was a co-owner of the New York Giants. Steve is now the team's Chairman and Executive Vice President. And he's following through on his love of the sport by helping the next generation of student-athletes. And, as we were walking in, these young athletes – you can see that their entrepreneurial skills are quite developed. They immediately were flashing their best smiles at Steve and looking forward to future draft days, when they would have their opportunity. So, it's a good day for everyone.

Just a couple words in Spanish before I bring up some others to speak to you.

[Mayor de Blasio speaks in Spanish]

It sounds the same in Spanish.

[Laughs]

[Mayor de Blasio speaks in Spanish]

I'd like to acknowledge it is fútbol Americano.

[Laughs]

Unknown: Gigantes.

Mayor: Gigantes? Los Gigantes, right? And you've heard a lot about Steve's role in football. You've heard a lot in his role in philanthropy. But there's one more thing you need to know about Steve Tisch. And this is really an extraordinary thing. When you meet someone who appears, for everything we know, to be the only person in this category anywhere in the world. Steve Tisch is the only man to win both a Super Bowl ring as a team executive and an Oscar as a producer of a Hollywood film. But he reminded me it's actually two Super Bowl rings and an Oscar – the only person who's achieved that. And that's pretty damn amazing – ladies and gentlemen, Steve Tisch.

[Applause]

[Steve Tisch, Executive Vice President of the New York Giants speaks]

Mayor: Well now I want to introduce the woman who is responsible for helping all our young people reach their potential academically, socially, humanly, and in terms of all the things that they apply themselves to. You know, Carmen Fariña has over 1.1 million children she thinks about every day and she's doing an extraordinary job in her role. Let's welcome our chancellor, Carmen Fariña.

[Applause]

[Schools Chancellor Carmen Fariña speaks]

Mayor: Now someone has to take this extraordinary generosity and turn it into action and make sure that our young people get the support. And that man is our CEO of School Support Services at the Department of Education. He's got a big job too on a whole host of levels, but he's also going to make sure that these new programs in place to protect our young people and help them enjoy this sport. I'd like to bring forward, Eric Goldstein.

[Applause]

[Eric Goldstein, CEO of Department of Education School Support Services speaks]

Mayor: Now, I'd like to bring up a proud product of our public schools here in Brooklyn and someone who makes us proud every day at what he does as borough president to support and nurture our young people and be a great role model for them — our borough president, Eric Adams. 

[Applause]

[Brooklyn Borough President Eric Adams speaks]

Mayor: Now to all the athletes behind me — not so any years ago, there was a young man who was wearing a uniform like yours for his high school team. And I don't know all the steps along the way, but I can tell, Victor, from watching you in the pros you had the determination, you had the focus, you believed in what you can do. So it wasn't that many years ago you were standing where these guys are now and you did all the right things to keep moving forward. And then in the process, Victor Cruz not only became a great player and a Super Bowl champion — lived out every dream all of us had as a child — but he won the hearts of New Yorkers and fans all over the country because he was the real thing, because he played with passion. He put everything he had into it. You couldn't mistake it. This is a guy who always gave 110 percent, then found something more to give. And that's why there's so much appreciation and respect for him. So it's my honor to bring forward, Victor Cruz of the New York Giants. 

[Victor Cruz speaks]

Mayor: When you're finished with football you should run for office.

[Laughter]

Mayor: You have that way about you, Victor. 

Alright, we're going to take questions on the topic of this announcement – any questions about this announcement? Questions – yes?

Question: How long does the money last and what happens when it runs out?

Mayor: Okay, Eric or Steve? Eric — whoever wants to join in. I can tell you, to begin, that the money will give us a very strong start on making sure that all of our student athletes are safe and then we're going to look to add to it from there — but why don't you join in?

Eric Goldstein: Thank you, Mr. Mayor. About two years-plus – that's the answer.

[Laughter]

Steve Tisch: I would also hope that my gift inspires other philanthropists, other citizens, other New Yorkers who love sports at the high school level, at the professional level, to see the value in a gift like this and make similar kinds of gifts. It's for these kids and it's tough to say no. So, I hope there are a lot of people out there who are inspired by this gift.

Mayor: Amen. Yes, sir?

Question: Will these trainers and EMTs – will they be stationed at the school and be part of the school team, or are they going to be city-wide?

Eric Goldstein: They're going to be at the schools at contact practices. So there'll be certified trainers, or EMT's, at every contact practice so this way they can attend to any injury or advise under any circumstance related to the health and safety of the student athletes.

Question: [Inaudible] specifically assigned to a school?

Eric Goldstein: Yes, specifically assigned to a school.

Mayor: I'm going to borrow Eric's technique of answering the question and walking off at the same time.

[Laughter]

Mayor: I think everyone in elected office is taking notes here.

[Laughter]

Mayor: Along that very controversial topic —

[Mayor de Blasio walks off]

[Laughter]

Mayor: Alright, any other questions on this? Yes?

Question: Are there any measures specifically related to preventing or treating concussions in the athletes?

Mayor: Eric, I think you should stand over here. And I think this — but I do want to say I'm glad you said the word prevent because this is, first and foremost, about conditioning and training and getting kids in a situation where they're going to be best protected and teaching them a lot of the right habits to be safe. 

Eric Goldstein: Working under the chancellor, and the mayor, and with Council Member Levin, and with NYU and Bellevue, and a host of medical authorities, we have a whole concussion protocol that we follow. It's a very important part of sports today and certainly a contact sport like football. We have online mechanisms now where coaches report concussions. We track concussions, proactively train coaches and athletic directors on concussion protocols, have medical services available to our students — this was the next step in the evolution of being proactive in managing health and safety, as it relates to sports and contact sports. So it was a critical step change for us, but we have a whole set of protocols and recording mechanisms that we follow.

Steve Tisch: As a parent of a high school football player, I also hope that this program gives parents of young athletes a certain sense of confidence and security that their kids will be practicing and playing football games with well-trained coaches and trainers. And, you know, a lot of parents are concerned about their kids playing contact sports —football, lacrosse, both girls and boys lacrosse — but as a parent, my level of confidence and comfort is greatly increased if I know that there are trained coaches as well as trainers who can recognize concussions symptoms, know concussion protocols, and I hope that's one of the real benefits of this program. 

Question: Just to be clear, the $1.5 million is -

Mayor: $1.2 million.

Question: The $1.2 million is just for Erasmus High School?

Mayor: No, it's for schools — I said 3,500 kids around the city. I'll give you the fun facts one more time here. It will provide for 53 certified trainers and EMT's for all of our public high school programs. Enough to reach nearly 3,500 players — again, not just at games but in any contact practices as well. 

Last call — yes?

Question: Does this affect lacrosse, field hockey, and other contact sports?

Eric Goldstein: Right now, this program is for tackle football. I hope that, going forward, the program can be broadened to include other contact sports such as lacrosse.