SYRACUSE, N.Y. (WSYR-TV)– It’s been a rollercoaster past few weeks for the Syracuse University’s Men’s Lacrosse team. On Friday, one of their star players was arrested for his role in a domestic incident. 

While none of his teammates have been allowed to speak with the media recently, they have taken to social media to stand against domestic violence showing their support for the One Love Foundation, an organization working to educate kids and young adults about healthy relationships. 

“It’s relevant to every one of us, you know, over one in three women, nearly one in three men, and one in two trans or non-binary folks will be in an abusive relationship in their lifetime. That means we all know someone, we all are someone,” Katie Hood, CEO of One Love said. 

Those statistics are even more prevalent for college-aged women who are three times more likely to be in an abusive relationship between the ages of 16 and 24 years old. 

In Syracuse, the Vera House is working to make sure people know the signs of an unhealthy relationship. 

“A lot of times the signs of verbal and psychological abuse are often signs that are ignored, so you know no one should be taking your phone and going through your phone…if you find that somebody is yelling at you constantly or constantly putting you down or constantly making you feel not so good about yourself, those are warning signs,” George Kilpatrick, Vera House Project Coordinator said. 

Those warning signs are also important for bystanders to know, and Kilpatrick said the Vera House applauds the Syracuse University Lacrosse team for taking a stand against domestic violence. 

“It’s that kind of stance that says we’re not going to participate in something that we believe is wrong, we need more men to step up and do that,” he said.

“I was also really happy to see men stepping up,” Hood said. “I think this issue has been treated as a women’s issue for too long, it’s a human issue. And we need people of all kinds to step up. But we need men to step up in a big way as allies and advocates.”

Vera House offers office hours at Syracuse University by appointment only and if you or someone you know needs help you can reach the Vera House helpline at (315) 468-3260. You can also head to One Love for additional resources.