Syracuse, N.Y. (NCC News) — From 1995 to 1998, Keri Potts lead the Syracuse University (SU) Volleyball team on the court. On Monday night, Potts lead the entire SU Athletics Department in a special presentation on sexual violence prevention and coping.
She knows what it’s like to be an athlete victimized by sexual assault. Potts was raped in 2008 while on vacation in Italy. Her perpetrator was convicted.
“Being an athlete, there’s an extra layer that makes it a little harder because when you’re a woman athlete you’re always taught how strong you are,” Potts said. “It’s particularly difficult after an assault to go back to feeling that way.
Potts has been active in victim training for a decade. She launched A Fight Back Woman Inc. in November, 2010. She says she created the website to “chronicle my assault, the criminal case, and my recovery, to remove the fear of overseas prosecution of sexual assault.”
In addition to counseling victims one-on-one for various volunteer organizations, Potts presents her story around the country. She’s spoken at universities like Clemson, Georgia, Massachusetts, and Florida State. Last year, Potts presented to the entire staff at ESPN in Bristol, Connecticut.
She focuses on telling her audiences what she wishes she had known before being attacked.
“If I had understood that trauma has a very long tail,” Potts said, “It’s not just the events itself, it’s five years down the road. It’s when you have depression or things pop up. Nobody ever talks to anyone about that.”
Potts has a background in communication. She earned a B.S. in journalism and an M.S. in public relations from the S.I. Newhouse School of Public Communications at Syracuse University. She was the first volleyball player in the history of SU to graduate with a masters degree in four years. Potts has worked at ESPN for over 15 years. She’s currently the senior director of public relations for college sports.
