0:00:15.828,0:00:19.773
When I was 21 years old, my father[br]passed away early in the morning

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after a very brief illness.

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I spent that day in shock, [br]but I spent that evening

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watching my Green Bay Packers[br]win a football game.

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At halftime, [br]I ate for the first time all day.

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And I know, sports should not have [br]mattered on a day like that day,

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but they did.

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Twenty years later,[br]I continue to work to try and advance

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the core lesson of that day.

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Sports have power, [br]therefore we need to teach sports.

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Not how to play them, [br]I think we have that covered.

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But how to consume them,

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how to understand them,[br]how to talk about them.

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Because when we teach sports,[br]

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we often teach those larger issues[br]as well:

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gender, domestic violence,[br]religion, identity.

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Two-thirds of Americans [br]don't own a passport,

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but over 95% report consuming [br]some form of international sports media.

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Our world gets wider [br]when sports enter the equation.

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Sports provide teachable moments

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for some of our most difficult [br]conversations,

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such as that taboo topic of race.

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For instance, a quick glance at[br]a swimming competition

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could lead someone to falsely believe

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that blacks simply cannot swim[br]as well as others.

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However, [br]there's far more to the story than that.

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In the American South, part of that story[br]involves generations of black Americans

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not being permitted [br]at pools, lakes, or beaches.

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Mom and dad can't go to the pool.[br]They don't learn to swim.

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They don't encourage[br]their children to swim,

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because they don't feel[br]they can teach them,

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or save them.

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Generations go by, the cycle continues.

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Even today, US rates of drowning[br]are triple for blacks than whites.

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So we need to teach and advance causes

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such as USA's Swimming's Make A Splash[br]initiative that teaches minorities to swim

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or we can simply relegate all blacks[br]as simply bad swimmers.

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Teach the former. Reject the latter.

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But it's not just our sports history that [br]needs teaching, it's also the language.

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Let's take a sport we are quite familiar[br]with in Alabama, football.

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Most recent studies would tell you[br]that media stereotypes

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surrounding black quarterbacks [br]being inferior no longer exist.

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However, more covert forms of stereotypes [br]still remain.

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Such as when a commentator[br]references a white wide receiver

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who is... deceptively quick.

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Or a black quarterback who is stubbornly[br]committed to being a pocket passer.

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These linguistic choices imply [br]that certain races

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have certain limitations[br]in certain areas.

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So, by teaching the flaws[br]in these presumed limitations,

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we cannot only [br]increase sports participation,

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but participation in diverse majors, [br]careers, and cultural experiences.

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See, whether you believe[br]that wins and losses are all that matter,

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or that you believe that sports [br]are far too elevated in our society,

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you're still arguing the same core belief.

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Sports wield power.

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So let's use that power [br]to have conversations

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about segregation, xenophobia,[br]homophobia,

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and much, much more.

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Thank you.

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(Applause)