WHO: Washington Wizards Players Andray Blatche, Jordan Crawford, Rashard Lewis and Nick Young; Wizards Girls; G-Man and the Secret Service DunkersWHAT: Spread the Word to End the Word Awareness WHEN: Tuesday, March 6WHERE: St. Coletta of Greater Washington-Gymnasium, 1901 Independence Avenue, SE, Washington, DC 20003TIME: 6:30 p.m.-8:00 p.m.
WASHINGTON, D.C. - In support of the Special Olympics' fourth annual "Spread the Word to End the Word" awareness day, Washington Wizards players Andray Blatche, Jordan Crawford, Rashard Lewis and Nick Young will attend a basketball game featuring athletes from Special Olympics Unified basketball teams on Tuesday, March 6, at St. Coletta of Greater Washington Gynamsium. Blatche and Lewis will serve as celebrity coaches while Crawford and Young will serve as referees. The Wizard Girls, G-Man and the Secret Service Dunkers will also be in attendance and perform at halftime.
Fans attending the Wizards game against the Lakers on March 7 will be encouraged to sign a banner pledging their commitment to "Spread the Word to End the Word." The banner, which will also be signed by the entire Wizards team, will be presented to St. Coletta of Greater Washington.
Spread the Word to End the Word™ is an ongoing effort by Special Olympics, Best Buddies and their supporters to raise the consciousness of society about the dehumanizing and hurtful effects of the word "retard(ed)" and encourage people to pledge to stop using the R-word.
Special Olympics Unified Sports Program helps raise the consciousness of society about how people with intellectual disabilities should be accepted by all. Special Olympics athletes with intellectual disabilities are paired as teammates alongside athletes without intellectual disabilities to foster an environment of acceptance for all. The athletes with and without disabilities playing as teammates at Coletta school will demonstrate why it is important to take the R-word pledge.
The campaign, created by youth, is intended to engage schools organizations and communities to rally and pledge their support at www.r-word.org and to promote the inclusion and acceptance of people with intellectual and developmental disabilities.
The Washington Wizards are committed to the Washington, D.C., metropolitan area and will focus on the following five pillars to maximize its impact on the community: education and scholarship, hunger and homelessness, military and veteran's affairs, pediatric health and fitness and youth basketball.
For more information on how to get involved with Special Olympics in Washington D.C., please visit https://www.specialolympicsdc.org/
The NBA's Washington Wizards are owned and operated by Monumental Sports & Entertainment, which is one of the largest integrated sports and entertainment companies in the country with one of the most diverse partnership groups in all of sports. The company also owns and operates the NHL's Washington Capitals, the WNBA's Washington Mystics and Verizon Center, the premier sports and entertainment venue in Washington, D.C. Monumental Sports & Entertainment also oversees the management of Kettler Capitals Iceplex - the training facility for the Washington Capitals and the Patriot Center arena at George Mason University.