Before they won gold at the 2017 IIHF Ice Hockey World Championships, William Nylander and Eddie Lack posted pictures on Instagram, wearing shirts that read “inte ensam aldrig glömd”. The slogan translates to “Not Alone, Never Forgotten.” It’s part of a Swedish campaign that helps raise awareness about sexual abuse and provides support for victims.
The founder of the campaign is Erik Grönberg, an abuse victim that spent a lot of his childhood years trying to repress his memories of what he had been through: drinking, throwing himself into relationships he knew were doomed from start, burying himself in work, and attempting suicides. Things changed, a few years ago, after Grönberg read the biography, “The Things You Didn’t See.” The book tells the story of Patrik Sjöberg, a former world-record holder in the high jump and a 1980’s track superstar. He came forward and spoke up about being sexually abused by his trainer, friend, and stepdad Viljo Nousiainen. This opened the door for other former athletes who worked with Nousiainen to come forward and testify about being sexually abused by him.
Grönberg began the campaign “Inte ensam, aldrig glömd”/”Not alone, never forgotten” to advocate for sexually-abused children, not just in sports, but everywhere. Grönberg writes on the website, “I hope to help others to tell their story, keeping them from heading down the same road as myself. I’ve started ‘Not alone, never forgotten’ to highlight the consequences of sexual abuse. A lot of people will wear this t-shirt to not just make a stand, but to send the message that you’re not alone and never forgotten, and that your story isn’t either.”
Several days before the Gold Medal Game, Nylander posed with the Minnesota Wild’s Joel Eriksson Ek and Jonas Brodin in the shirts.
Earlier in the tournament, Lack, Arizona Coyotes forward Mario Kempe, and Team Sweden doctor Vladimir Egorov also posted a photo supporting the cause.
#inteensamaldrigglömd
All the money made from the site’s webshop go to help raising awareness of the topic through lectures and events. Shirts can be bought for $17, but the site only ships to Sweden, Finland, Germany, Denmark, and Norway.
Translations by Magnus Cadelin.
Headline photo: @WilliamNylander
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