Pro Wrestler Mick Foley Brings New Voice to Rape Crisis Group
Now a RAINN board member, he spends hours lending an ear to victims.
May 25, 2011 — -- The world of pro wrestling is filled with crass, crushing cretins, but wrestler Mick Foley would like to add a new adjective to that mix. Caring.
Having logged more than 500 hours last year alone, this giant of a man is one of the world's most active, and unlikely, volunteers for the Rape, Abuse and Incest National Network (RAINN for short).
"I can honestly say, I can look you in the eyes and tell you this is as important as anything I have done in my entire life," he said.
Foley became interested in RAINN after learning that singer Tori Amos, whom he listened to before big matches, is a rape survivor and helped found the organization.
"Until meeting her in 2008, I never really examined the idea that I might be able to do something about this issue," Foley said. "Once I did the reading, I could see that there were not really men speaking out on an issue that affects everybody, and I thought that this might actually be the place where I could make the biggest difference."
Foley, now a RAINN board member, spends hours every week working on the group's online hotline where victims can get instant support.
"I often feel like the biggest benefit I can offer is just to have an ear, an understanding ear. In so many cases the people who visit our online hotline are talking to somebody about their assault for the first time ever," he said.
Amanda Sandberg, a rape survivor and RAINN volunteer, said Foley wasn't just a celebrity face, but a person in the trenches.
"He has, like, the most logged hours out of any of us, which I'm jealous of," she said. "He has no shame in his support of RAINN and he shows that."
Foley said the hardest part of being a volunteer was understanding that he could not help everyone.
"There are visits that don't end the way you would like them to," he said. "I think the biggest qualification that someone has to have to be a volunteer is the ability to have their heart broken pretty regularly and carry on."
Foley puts in hours -- and money. He recently raised more than $100,000 for RAINN.
"If I had two messages, it would be 'No means no," and I would ask every dad to go home and talk to their son and let them know that when it comes to being a man, there's nothing more important than respecting a woman," he said.
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