Four Local Athletes Sign NIL Deals with Blue Square

Since New England Patriots owner Robert Kraft started the Blue Square Alliance Against Hate in 2019 to stand up to Jewish hate and all hate, the foundation has partnered with a wide spectrum of global celebrities, spanning across sports and entertainment. Recently, Blue Square Alliance (BSA) has joined forces with a new segment of the population: college athletes who are able to parlay their NIL (name, image, likeness) opportunities towards representing this noble cause.

After unveiling its inaugural class of Jewish college athletes last July, BSA recently announced its second wave of commitments, one that has deep Atlanta roots. The expanding cohort of Jewish collegiate athletes to ink NIL deals with Blue Square Alliance includes a quartet of hometown athletes spanning four different sports: University of Georgia pole vault specialist, Alon Rogow; Johns Hopkins University baseball player, Aaron Bock; Brown University tight end, Levi Linowes; and Reinhardt University hoopster, Charles Reisman.

All four of the Atlanta-based scholar-athletes who recently came aboard BSA are sincerely invested in leveraging their respective platforms towards raising awareness of the rising tide of antisemitism and perpetuation of anti-Jewish beliefs across America.

“College athletes are leaders in real and visible ways,” said Adam Katz, president of the Blue Square Alliance Against Hate, when speaking to the AJT. “They know how to push through adversity, show up for their teammates, and inspire others. By elevating their voices and sharing their stories, we’re helping build empathy, expand representation, and encourage allyship across college campuses at a time when our country and world are increasingly polarized and disconnected.”

Rogow, a Dunwoody native who’s now a senior on the UGA track & field team, has been focused on “trying to teach all of my friends what Judaism is all about” through participating in a weekly interfaith Bible study group at his house, involving both former and current student-athletes. When his brother, Jacob, who works in the Israeli embassy in Washington, D.C, mentioned the Blue Square Alliance, Rogow pounced on the opportunity.

“With all of what’s happening recently after Oct. 7, and the incredible rise of antisemitism all around the country, I wanted to be able to make a difference,” shared Rogow, who has since been contacted by the Marcus JCC of Atlanta about participating in a panel discussion for incoming undergrad students about the Jewish college athletics experience. “Being a Jewish student-athlete, it gives me a platform to be able to do something. Day-to-day, it’s kind of hard to make a difference, because I don’t really see the antisemitism all that much, but I know it’s there.

“Working with the Blue Square project, I’m able to actually put it out there and inform people and make sure that people are aware of the situation.”

In addition to Rogow, Reisman also chose to stay in-state in pursuit of his collegiate athletic career. As a redshirt sophomore guard for Reinhardt’s men’s basketball team, he was similarly enthused about the chance to represent the BSA when he inked his NIL deal at the beginning of this academic year.

“When I first heard about the Blue Square Alliance, I realized that there was a lot of antisemitism in the world,” explained Reisman, who has also been busy with BSA-related social media projects that have sparked conversation and curiosity in his community. “I thought it was a good time for me to try and play a part in helping raise awareness for a lot of hate that’s being faced and shown towards our people. Our goal is just to serve as an inspiration for Jewish people across the country.

“One of the things that really stuck with me was my great-grandfather served in World War II and actually took part in liberating the concentration camps. I can remember going on an eighth-grade field trip to Washington, D.C. and seeing the Holocaust Museum there. It really hit home for me. It made me feel like I needed to play a part in raising awareness about it.”

At Johns Hopkins, 42 miles due north of the United States Holocaust Memorial Museum, Aaron Bock, a junior infielder/outfielder, was already heavily engaged in his school’s Judaic culture through being on the board of the on-campus Chabad and working closely with the Jewish student athlete association. Thus, joining Blue Square Alliance was a natural extension of his current work.

“When you have an amazing opportunity to share some of the things that you’re interested in and maybe help just one other young ballplayer out there, it’s not something that you pass up on, without a doubt,” said The Weber School alum, whose current collegiate coach, Nate Mulberg, was an assistant coach with Team Israel at the 2021 Tokyo Olympics.

“It [being a Division I Jewish athlete in 2026] is kind of just a representation of my personal journey and being able to share that personal journey with a group of Jewish athletes to inspire the next generation, it really means a lot to me,” explained Linowes, a senior tight end from Atlanta who knew about Blue Square Alliance from ads online, but wasn’t aware of the NIL partnership until his dad brought it to his attention. “In high school, football games were on Friday night, and Friday nights are obviously a very important time for Jewish people in general. Having a balance — being Jewish but also being very involved in athletics — it really does mean a lot to me, in my identity. I feel like through this program, you got the chance to really show how this identity has shaped our academic and athletic journeys.”

The emerging popularity of NIL partnerships has spawned many different reactions across the college athletic community. However, as evidenced by the efforts of Rogow, Bock, Reisman, and Linowes, a lot of good continues to come out of the program.

“We’re excited by the momentum and growth we’re seeing on college campuses,” added Katz. “We launched the program in July with six student-athletes, and our second cohort has expanded to include 17 new student-athletes. We see real potential for this work to demonstrate a new way NIL can be used to create a positive impact on college campuses and in the world.”