Professor Andy Billings argues that we need to teach sports in America, although not how you might think. He says we need to learn sports - not how to play them - but how to talk about and consumer them. Sports can be a very powerful common bond that can help us jumpstart difficult conversations about race, gender, sexual orientation, and more.

Andrew Billings is the director of the Alabama Program in Sports Communication and Ronald Reagan Chair of Broadcasting in the Department of Telecommunication & Film at the University of Alabama. His research interests lie in the intersection of sport, mass media, consumption habits, and identity-laden content. His books include Olympic Media: Inside the Biggest Show on Television and The Fantasy Sport Industry: Games within Games. Andrew’s work has won numerous awards and he has lectured in nations around the world, from Spain to China to Austria. His work in the classroom has also earned him many teaching awards.

This talk was given at a TEDx event using the TED conference format but independently organized by a local community. Learn more at http://ted.com/tedx