The big news upon arrival in Paris last weekend was the FIBA 3X3 basketball European Cup championship, held throughout last weekend at the iconic Trocadéro, and what a vibrant vibe!

The Tokyo Games went off this summer, in spite of host Japan’s pandemic-induced state of emergency. I was all-in on the basketball tournaments – both the classic 5X5 and inaugural 3X3 men’s and women’s versions — as well as these other key storylines.

It’s been one year since George Floyd was killed, one local action that sparked ripple effects domestically and internationally. And now, in 2021, it is time to ask ourselves how to contribute to tangible progress.

Tomorrow the French national team confronts the United States in Le Havre in what could turn into a more interesting-than-usual friendly match. The two teams’ histories with each other form a very different sort of Franco-Americain relationship than most people think of.

I’ve focused on five clutch inflection points that sculpted the past twelve months—a nod to my training as a historian, which is to identify inflection points, pivotal moments that unleash onwards change, disruption, revolution, war, lasting peace, prosperity, and more. Here are my five for 2020…

There’s unsurprisingly lots of synergy between the two in that they both seek to communicate, represent, and negotiate as part of their core functions—even as their goals and objectives may be different. These threads are pulled together in my recent Sports Business Journal Daily op-ed, “Sports Diplomacy As An Engagement Tool.”

This Armistice Day is a time to feel hopeful, for great eras of diplomatic crisis historically result in modernization and professionalization of U.S. diplomacy, reengineering it to better function and thrive in new eras—and yes, this includes sports diplomacy.

Four years of an ‘America First’ foreign policy has made ‘America Alone.’ There is a dire imperative to rebuild the United States’ reputation and role within the international community—and sports diplomacy can play a vitally important role providing comparatively easy, early wins...if done well with intention and thought.