Trying To Find Common Ground? Look To Sports and The Athletes Who Inspire

Even for nan biggest names successful sports, athletics and title aren’t conscionable astir winning — they’re a chance to punctual players and fans alike astir nan unifying powerfulness of sport.

Team USA golden medalists Brandi Chastain and Elana Meyers Taylor joined NBA Commissioner Adam Silver connected Thursday to observe moments from their careers that person done conscionable that.

For Taylor, that connection of unity was connected afloat show during a parade successful her grant successful Texas earlier this twelvemonth aft nan bobsledder won her first golden medal successful Milan Cortina astatine property 41.

“You saw group successful a Harris T-shirt correct adjacent to group successful a Trump T-shirt,” she said. “And it didn’t matter, because they were location to observe thing that was bigger than each of us.”

The Olympics, she added, brought a affirmative infinitesimal for galore who mightiness beryllium struggling.

“They were capable to move connected their TV and spot athletes from each walks of life doing their champion to correspond their state and win,” she said.

Their conversation, which was moderated by NBC Sports' Mike Tirico, came astatine a Common Ground event, portion of an NBC News franchise bringing together leaders pinch different perspectives to attraction connected solutions to pressing issues.

Taylor said that her communicative wouldn’t person been imaginable without Chastain, who scored nan winning extremity for nan U.S. women’s shot squad successful 1999 against China successful nan World Cup final.

Chastain's post-goal ceremony is among nan astir well-known successful sports history.

“It conscionable was a seminal moment, because cipher had ever dreamed aliases believed aliases invested successful an arena that would beryllium truthful large for illustration this before,” Chastain said. “To beryllium honest, we crushed it.”

Silver said that neither of nan athletes' stories would person happened without Title IX, nan 1972 civilian authorities rule that bars activity favoritism successful schools that person national costs and has importantly accrued nan number of female athletes successful nan United States.

One consequence of that law, Silver said, was nan maturation of nan WNBA, which he called remarkable.

“It conscionable shows really authorities argumentation tin really make an effect connected these things,” he said.