I Will, I Can, I Am

Louisville, Kentucky is home to the Muhammad Ali Center, a place that promotes the principles of “confidence, conviction, dedication, giving, respect, and spirituality.” As a scholar-athlete studying Sport Diplomacy, I was excited to have been recently invited to speak at the Center’s forum on “Athletes for Social Change” regarding the role that educational institutions can play in supporting athletes working to create positive social change. The venue stands as a representation of Muhammad Ali’s example that athletes can be athletic, social, and political forces. Other athletes have followed in Ali’s socially inspired path; amongst them is Dikembe Mutombo, who has spent millions to build a hospital in the Democratic Republic of the Congo, treating over 100,000 individuals.

The forum, held on March 29-30, brought together a unique group of academics, non-profit organizations, and private industry to discuss roles and responsibilities in addressing social issues. In my speech, which discussed the effects of athletes as agents of social change, I argued that as athletes learn to excel in a mental (“I will”), physical (“I can”), and spiritual (“I am”) framework, they become proficient at creating internal change. Social change at the core relates to an alteration in the social order of society and includes changes to thought processes—similar to the thought processes that athletes alter in order to position themselves for success. Herein lies a link: athletes have a unique potential to transfer skills from such internal change toward external change. This does not by any means guarantee an athlete’s ability to create sustainable benefits to society or provide social opportunities where there might be none. In most cases, it actually means very little beyond a one-time contribution that produces feel good stories and pictures of happy children around the athlete. Yet countries (including the United States) and IGOs such as the United Nations are increasingly dedicating resources to programs founded on sport such as peacebuilding, development, and diplomacy programs.

Some would argue that athletes should be discouraged from advocating for social change. The fact remains, however, that athletes possess both an influential attraction to the public and a desire to contribute to society away from the playing field. In most cases they have the time and financial resources to do so. The way forward thus centers on how to best train and equip athletes and to support entities with the knowledge to create real, sustainable change through a balance of theory and praxis, as opposed to praxis over theory where the name of the game is “try and try again.” To this end, educational institutions have the influence to create a ‘Scholar-Athlete for Social Change Association,’ an interdisciplinary umbrella and cross-sectional organization to develop curricula, research, and public-private partnerships. This influence could help partner with policy makers to ensure broader and deeper positive change.