Bright and early Tuesday morning, just a handful of hours after our win over the Washington Redskins the night before, there I was at 30th Street Station, boarding a train for Harrisburg. Along with my Eagles teammates Chris Long and Torrey Smith, as well as Pittsburgh Steelers VP of Football Operations Omar Khan, we went to the State Capitol to advocate for criminal justice reform and specific legislation to help strengthen our communities in Pennsylvania.
We held individual meetings with legislators in the House and Senate, including Rep. Ron Marsico (R-Dauphin), the Chair of the House Judiciary Committee, and Rep. Sharon DeLozier (R-Cumberland), the prime sponsor of the Clean Slate Act (HB 1419/SB 529), which I previously wrote about here. We also met with House Majority Leader Rep Dave Reed (R-Indiana), House Majority Whip Rep. Bryan Cutler (R-Lancaster), Senator John Rafferty (R-Montgomery, Chester, Berks), Senator Scott Wagner (R-York and prime sponsor of the Clean Slate Act), as well as the Pennsylvania Legislative Black Caucus, among others.
Overall, the consensus was positive and led us to believe there is bipartisan support for the Clean Slate Act, which seals the record of non-violent misdemeanors automatically after 10 years if the individual has stayed “clean.”
We were heartened, for example, to hear how much Republican Senator Wagner and Democratic Senator Tony Williams agree on the need to fix our broken criminal justice system. Currently, 1 in 3 adult Pennsylvanians have a criminal record for a past offense, which means that, chances are, either you or someone you know could benefit from this bill being made a priority and passing—whether to get a second chance at a better paying job, or the opportunity to buy a house or get a loan.
While our position as professional football players might have helped secure these meetings, as constituents you have a voice as well. You can contact your Congressional representative to request this bill be made a priority by visiting https://yesoncleanslate.org. The time is now to help Pennsylvanians move forward. Check out the video below for a glimpse into one of our meetings:
On Sunday, we take on San Francisco. Here’s how we stack up on the criminal justice front: