New York Giants safeties Antoine Bethea and Michael Thomas are doing their part to help shine a light on the issue of criminal justice reform.
The pair of Giants players spoke at Binghamton University on Thursday night at an event hosted by the Broome Tioga NAACP, Citizen Action, Just, Binghamton PLOT, TruthPharm and the Vera Institute of Justice.
Topics discussed were the impact of jailing people at a young age, holding court personnel responsible, and the lack of support for people after they leave prison. Some in the community shared their own experiences of being in the criminal justice system.
One Binghamton University student was pleased with the structure of the event, according to News 12 WBNG.
“I think it’s helpful to raise awareness with the community and I think it’s really great they involved members in the community in the event. It’s not just the Giants speaking numbers or us just speaking numbers. It’s the community’s voice,” said Binghamton student Sara Herlands.
Bethea, who was a free-agent acquisition of the Giants this offseason, is no stranger to fighting for criminal justice reform. As a member of the Arizona Cardinals, Bethea met with Governor Doug Ducey in 2018 to discuss the same topic, along with two of his teammates and Cardinals President Michael Bidwell.
“It’s not going to be something to just happen overnight,” Bethea said after the 2018 meeting, “but to just be able to have that dialogue and sit and talk, we can take this somewhere.”
With the help of Thomas, Bethea is wasting no time making an impact in his new home.
