6 communication takeaways from football

Are you ready for some football?

Even if you’re not, perhaps you are ready for some communication insights derived from the most popular, and controversial, league in the land?

Let’s huddle up, heave it to the end zone and hope you score—with these six points:

1. Take a bold stand—or not. Even if you’ve never watched a snap, you now know the name Colin Kaepernick.

Kaepernick was the first player to kneel during the national anthem in 2016 to protest police brutality and mistreatment of minorities, and many players have since followed his lead (much to the frustration of owners and league officials).

Whether you view the players kneeling as a powerful, peaceful protest, an unacceptable, unpatriotic outrage, inconsequential theatrics or somewhere in between, it’s impossible to deny the impact this movement has had on the league—and the nation. For better or worse, the players have chosen to tackle some of the thorniest, intractable, most complex issues that plague our country.