This Super Bowl weekend in Houston, I attended one of the most inspiring, powerful, and eloquent conversation on race relations that I’ve ever heard, and the perspectives also provided powerful leadership lessons.
The perspectives came from professional football players.
In.a townhall titled: From Protest to Progress: The Power of Sports to Improve Race Relations, hosted by RISE and the NFL, pro-football players shared their experiences and perspectives on sports as a platform to affect positive societal change. RISE is Miami Dolphin owner Steve Ross’s cross-league initiative for sports for equality.
My three takeaways from the session were:
1. Every person can make a difference, big or small.
2. At the same time, we also have to be mindful of the context and change the system to make sure that there’s a level playing field.
3. Change starts with empathy and engaging with each other as human beings.
Every person can make a difference
A key part of leadership is harnessing the power of every individual. Doing so means that every individual has agency, and power to make a contribution. That the collective power is only possible because of individual power.
The best leaders at harnessing this also recognize we have to have a diversity and plurality of voices at the table.
Here’s how I saw this playing out in the sessions, in their voices:
Glover Quin (Detroit Lions)
“It was about knowing that there was a problem and a step needs to be taken to fix it. I want to bring people together. I don't know the answers but we can start to try to fix it. You don't have to be an expert to get involved. Everybody has a role and often times your influence is bigger than what you think.”
Josh McCown (Cleveland Browns)
“White people need to be involved in the conversation. We are talking about humans and at the end of the day, there are lives at stake. What can we do to help, to bring people together so this doesn't happen.”
“Sports is a reflection of America. We have to work together in a cohesive unit to do something. This isn’t just a black issue.”
James Ihedigbo (Buffalo Bills, and former SB Champion with Baltimore Ravens)
“It’s about seeing value in every person. We have to examine how are we valuing each other.”
It’s not only about the person, it’s also about the system
In management, one of the most pervasive traps that managers fall into is fundamental attribution error. It’s assuming that mistakes are made totally within the control of the individual, when the environment (or the system) can play a significant role.
Here’s what the different players are addressing that in the context of the problem of race relations:
Andrew Hawkins (Cleveland Browns)
“We are trying to change every household and people from every walk of life. It's not about who's right, but what's right. If we can push things for what's right for everyone in this country, it's going to be better for everyone.”
Malcolm Jenkins (Philadelphia Eagles)
“This issue is about everyone having same opportunities and justice. The systems we have in place are meant to provide checks and balances, to prevent bad things from happening. Police brutality is a side effect of systems and policies that are in place, and hence we have to make the system better.”
Empathy is imperative
At the end of the day, in leadership, we are dealing with human beings. People don’t follow titles nor positions, they follow people. So to lead effectively requires seeing one’s team, one’s followers, and one’s detractors as human beings. It starts with seeing beneath the surface to connect with their stories, their hearts, and their struggles.
Here’s a capture of the different panelists’ words and perspectives:
Benjamin Watson (Baltimore Ravens)
"What we can't legislate is the hearts of people. So the next step is for people's lives to be changed. Wherever we lie on the spectrum, we all have a lot of introspection to do. Our dinner tables are as important as our courtrooms in influencing what happens."
Rashad Jennings (NY Giants)
Rashad shared the story of when he was a teenager, he went for dinner at a classmate’s house only to discover during the visit that the classmate’s parents were KKK members. He could feel the tension but talked with the host in a kind way still. Years later, the father of his classmate approached him at a game and said, "Sir I never had anybody talk to me the way you did and I respect you for it.
Anquan Boldin(Detroit Lions)
Anquan shared how these are not just abstract problems, but real life issues that hit close to home. He had lost his cousin, whose car had broken down on the side of the road, to a shooting by a police officer.
His solution starts with "bringing people together and seeing people as people. We need to build those relationships with people and understand where the other side is coming from…As athletes, we become aware of the voice that we do have. We can support the things that are happening.”
In November, Boldin organized a set of meetings with Congress and his NFL colleagues to discuss police brutality and race.
Andrew Hawkins (Cleveland Browns)
“Everybody has to feel like this is their problem. A big problem is the lack of empathy. Once everybody can feel like they have a space in this struggle, massive change can happen.”
In conclusion, Aeneas Williams’s words sums it up best. He is a pastor and NFL Hall of Famer.
“It’s not what people don't know that hurts them, it’s what they know that's not true. You have to have different people at the table. You can't assume you know what everyone goes through. What you can do instead, is listen to the challenges each person has without projecting you onto their voices.”
The entire townhall was hosted by Texas Southern University, supported by The Players’ Tribune, broadcast live on SiriusXM’s Business Radio and powered by the Wharton School Sports Business Leadership Initiative. It was live streamed on Faceboook @RISEtoWINorg.
