I have spent the last two days at Marquette University participating in the Sport at the Service of Humanity Conference.
I have met religious leaders, coaches, athletes, and athletic directors, all passionate about sports but more importantly, all dedicated to improving the world.
The conference was based on three “I’s.”: Inspiration, inclusion, involvement.
The last question asked was, “Is there God in sport?” Tom Judge, Chaplain of Athletics at DePaul University in Chicago, answered with a resounding yes. The world of sports inspires us, the root of inspiration is spirit, and where there is spirit, we find the presence of God.
At Marquette, sports was simply a means of gathering a group of diverse people to create bonds that can create scared relationships of tomorrow.
While the conference was created by the Vatican, the presence of the Jewish voice was an important part of the conversation.
As basketball coach Shaka Smart told us, his team is based on the “domino effect.” How will you be a domino to create a reaction of goodness and kindness and belonging?
In a world where we witness divisiveness, hate, and loneliness, lessons of sports can bring us back together-goodness, kindness, belonging.
