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[MUSIC PLAYING]

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[APPLAUSE]

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SEAN ADAMS: I love sports.

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I've loved them from the[br]time I was a young man.

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I loved them even[br]though I didn't grow up

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in a sports family.

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I think I fell in[br]love with sports

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because I saw it as honest.

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If you can produce,[br]you get to play.

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And it was that simple.

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I come to you today[br]to talk to you

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about maybe an[br]importance in sports

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that we haven't[br]recognized before.

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I've been able to do a ton[br]of things because of sports.

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I was able to represent[br]my university.

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I was able to become[br]an All-American.

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I won watches.

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I was in magazines.

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And all of that[br]pales when we talk

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about the importance of what[br]could be in sports right now.

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Historically, there's[br]been four ways by which

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we raise men in this country--

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in the home, in the church, in[br]the military, and in sports.

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Cultural changes[br]have changed the mix

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on the importance of[br]how those things work.

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In the home-- right now, one[br]third of American children,

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about 15 million children, grow[br]up in a home with no father.

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That's a lot of[br]young boys growing up

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without a daily example[br]of manhood in their home.

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In church-- census tells[br]us that less than 20%

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of American citizens go[br]to church, attend a church

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service, on a regular basis.

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And if social trends[br]in America follow

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Europe, like they[br]usually do, by 2025,

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the number could be 12% or[br]13% of American citizens

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attend a church service[br]on a regular basis.

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Because of technology,[br]cyber advancements,

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the current[br]administration's desire

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to bring the number of[br]active military down

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to its lowest point since[br]World War II, 80% of applicants

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to the military get turned away.

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We're not raising a lot of[br]men in the military either.

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What we're left with is sports.

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Could be the last[br]bastion by which we

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give the characteristics[br]and the virtues

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with which we raise men.

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In sports-- where we learn the[br]virtue of the huddle, where you

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take north and south, east and[br]west, conservative and liberal,

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black and white, you put[br]them in the same huddle,

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you give them the[br]same color Jersey,

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you give them a common goal.

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And you let them sweat, tear[br]up, and work hard together.

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And special things[br]start to take place.

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Where we learn teamwork,[br]community, fidelity.

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We care about each other,[br]don't let each other down.

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The old coach's term that says[br]teams that play for a great fan

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base win a lot of games.

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Teams that play for a great[br]coach win a lot of games.

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Teams that play for each[br]other win championships.

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It's a concept we could use[br]in our families right now.

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What about pride, where I'm[br]constantly reminded that pride

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is the worst of the seven sins?

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And I constantly have to[br]remind people, unfortunately,

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I got a lot of it.

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But I don't think I'd get[br]anywhere in this world

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without some pride,[br]without some passion,

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without some accountability.

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Where pride for me means[br]personal responsibility

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in daily excellence.

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That's my pride.

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We talk about failure,[br]the virtue from failure,

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sports, based in failure[br]sometimes, those under virtues

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that allow us to succeed in[br]life because we've experienced

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some failure in other places.

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I wanted to be a[br]national champion.

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I've been blessed enough[br]to be an All-American.

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I've done a ton of stuff.

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But I've never been an[br]individual national champion.

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We get to my senior year.

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We're at North Carolina state.

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And I have a shot to[br]be a national champion

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in a number of events.

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I get second place.

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I get third place.

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So I'm All-American again, but[br]I'm not a national champion.

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And that's what I wanted to be.

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We get to the four[br]by four relay.

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I'm the anchor, and[br]I want it on me.

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I'm the kid.

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I sat in front of my house[br]with my Walter Mitty stories

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thinking I'm putting myself in[br]places where I can be the hero.

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I counted down 3, 2,[br]1 and shot the basket.

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I wanted to anchor that[br]four by four relay.

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We get down to the anchor,[br]and I'm waiting like this.

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And I'm waiting for my[br]guy to bring me the baton.

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He gives me the baton,[br]I take off running.

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I'm in third place by[br]about 12 or 13 meters.

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Within the first 50 meters, I[br]go pass the guy in second place.

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Somewhere along[br]the back straight,

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I pull up next to the[br]guy in first place.

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And for the life of me, I have[br]no idea why I don't go by him.

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My coach had always told me,[br]if you get up next to him,

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you have to go by him and[br]make him run your race.

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If you sit next to him,[br]you'll end up running his.

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I run tied with him[br]for about 200 meters

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until we get to 50 meters to go.

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I'm closing in.

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About 40 meters to go, he[br]starts pulling in front of me,

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and he's pulling a little[br]further away from me.

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And finally, I'm[br]getting the notion

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with about 10 or 15 meters to[br]go that I'm going to get my team

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second place again.

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I was miserable.

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I was crushed.

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At that moment, it was[br]one of the toughest things

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I ever had to experience.

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But you know what[br]I learned from it?

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One, do what your coaches and[br]your teachers and your parents

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tell you to do,[br]because they usually

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know a lot more than you do.

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If I'd done what I was[br]coached to do that day,

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I win that race.

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Two, failure is not permanent.

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Failure is like a rain cloud,[br]and sometimes it rains on you.

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And you got to ride it out.

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And three, if you[br]don't internalize it

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and you don't[br]personalize it, you'll

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realize it's just[br]a part of life,

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and you will grow and[br]become better for it.

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All those lessons I learned[br]in sports to manage failure,

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to be in community, to[br]understand the characteristics

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of diversity, to understand[br]the interconnected relationship

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between preparation and[br]success, all of these virtues

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that we have learned in so[br]many other places in life

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that seemingly we have to learn[br]in sports now, where are we

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going to get them from?

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How important does[br]sports become?

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Four, Supreme Court justice[br]Oliver Wendell Holmes,

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probably more[br]popularized for coining

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the phrase "clear[br]and present danger,"

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also said, "The[br]place for any man

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completing all of his[br]powers is in the fight."

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And I don't know if I'm[br]completing all of my powers.

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But having the[br]opportunity through sports

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to fight for the growth and[br]development of young people

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when seemingly every historic[br]fixture around them is breaking

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is a fight that I'm[br]honored to be in.

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Thank you very much.

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[APPLAUSE]

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[MUSIC PLAYING]

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