From Campus to Community: Inspiring Others to Vote in the Midterm Elections
Episode notes
What can the lessons of sports and college athletics teach us about being more engaged citizens?
Joe Kennedy, joins Chris Malone on The Unity Forum to discuss how student athletes are using their visibility, relationships, and leadership skills to encourage nonpartisan civic engagement.
Joe is co-founder of The Team and the inaugural Director of Athletics and Sports Leadership at the Obama Presidential Center.
The Team works directly with athletes, coaches, and athletic departments to encourage civic participation and make engagement more accessible, positive, and relevant to campus life. Its stated mission is to “develop teammates, inspire leaders, and empower citizens.”
With the 2026 midterm elections approaching, Joe also translates what The Team has learned on college campuses into practical ideas people of all ages can use within their own families, workplaces, neighborhoods, alumni networks, and communities.
Key Takeaways
08:07 – Listen to the people you want to engage The Team intentionally designs programs with athletes rather than simply presenting programs to them, giving young people ownership of their civic involvement.
12:03 – Civic lessons from sports Teamwork, shared goals, sportsmanship, resilience, and accountability can be useful habits for civic life as well as athletic competition.
14:19 – Build civic muscles through action The Engaged Athlete Fellowship asks students to identify an issue, design a project, and put it into practice—applying the athletic idea of improving through repetition and experience.
17:02 – Democracy is not a spectator sport Joe explains why The Team approaches its work from a nonpartisan perspective and focuses on encouraging participation rather than promoting candidates or parties.
21:17 – Don’t underestimate peer influence High-profile voices can help, but Joe says friends, teammates, colleagues, and other trusted people can also influence participation—especially when they explain why engagement matters to them personally.
25:57 – Applying the campus lessons at any age Joe encourages listeners to think of citizenship as a year-round responsibility and to look for opportunities to contribute through local government, community organizations, places of worship, and other groups.
27:37 – What listeners can do now Check your voter registration, make a plan for when and how you will vote, learn about the options available in your state, and encourage people within your own network to participate.
38:08 – What democracy can learn from sports Working toward common goals, respecting rules, accepting outcomes, demonstrating sportsmanship, and learning to recover from losses are lessons Joe believes have relevance throughout civic life. Joe Kennedy Webinar Transcript …
39:47 – “Don’t sit on the sidelines” Joe closes by encouraging listeners to participate, influence the people around them, and carry the responsibilities of citizenship throughout the year—not only when elections occur.
Closing Thought
The central message of the conversation: citizenship means getting off the sidelines, getting into the game—and bringing others with you.
Resources Mentioned
The Team: https://www.theteam.org/
Voter Resources from The Team: https://www.theteam.org/vote
The Unity Forum: https://alumniforfreedomanddemocracy.org/unity-forum