STORRS, CT — The University of Connecticut will host the second Dodd Human Rights Summit from October 22 to 24 at the Dodd Center for Human Rights, bringing together world-renowned athletes, journalists, scholars, and advocates to explore the relationship between sports and human rights, according to the school.
The three-day event, titled “Sport & Human Rights,” will open with a keynote conversation featuring 1968 Olympic athletes Tommie Smith and John Carlos, whose raised-fist salute on the Mexico City podium became a lasting symbol of protest and solidarity. The conversation will be moderated by ESPN’s William C. Rhoden in the Student Union Theatre on Wednesday, Oct. 22, from 4 to 5:30 p.m.
“The summit will bring a new dimension of sport to UConn, one with a human rights lens,” said summit co-organizer and postdoctoral research associate Erica Laplante in a press release. “By focusing the summit on the intersection of sport and human rights, we are able to leverage the strength of our human rights program with the strength of UConn’s athletic reputation to bring in new speakers, attendees, and community members.”
Thursday’s sessions will focus on gender and resistance, beginning with a keynote from Pablo Torre, host of “Pablo Torre Finds Out” and a former ESPN writer and on-air personality. The day will conclude with a panel on sportwashing, examining how states, corporations, and governing bodies use major sporting events to project power and obscure human rights issues.
Paralympic ski racing medalist Danelle Umstead will headline the final day with a keynote on disability and human rights. Friday’s discussions will also include a panel on corporate power in sports and a closing conversation highlighting UConn athletes.
Panelists include former men’s basketball player Doron Sheffer ’96, track and field standout and interim director of student activities Trisha Hawthorne-Noble ’11, Olympian Bethany Hart Gerry ’00, football quarterback Bryant Shirreffs ’17 and Harrison Brooks Fitch Jr. ’64, son of UConn’s first Black basketball player.
“Sport promotes fairness, nondiscrimination, respect, and equal opportunities for all,” said James Waller, the Christopher J. Dodd Chair in Human Rights Practice and director of Dodd Human Rights Impact Programs at UConn in a press release. “On its worst days, however, sport can fail to uphold these standards. Instead of promoting and protecting human rights, sport can reveal serious violations of human rights, including racial and sexual discrimination, financial exploitation, and neglect and curtailment of participatory rights and freedom of expression.”
The summit is free and open to the public. Students, faculty, and community members are encouraged to attend. The full schedule is available online through the Dodd Center for Human Rights.