Coach K, Gen. Dempsey, Adam Silver, Sarah Hirshland to Discuss America’s Role in Global Sports

A conversation about sports, diplomacy and the U.S. role in the world takes place Thursday, Sept. 28, at Duke University and features Gen. (ret) Martin Dempsey, Sarah Hirshland (CEO of the United States Olympic and Paralympic Committee), Coach Mike Krzyzewski and NBA Commissioner Adam Silver.

The Ambassador Dave and Kay Phillips Family International Lecture, presented by Duke’s Program in American Grand Strategy, is open to the public and takes place from 5:30-6:45 p.m. in Page Auditorium on Duke’s West Campus. (The event was moved from Griffith Film Theater in the Bryan Student Center due to demand.)

Registration is required at this link. Those unable to attend in person can tune in to the livestream here (no registration required for the livestream). Dempsey, Hirshland and Silver are all Duke alumni.

Dempsey, A.M. ’84, named one of TIME magazine’s most influential people, retired in October 2015 after 41 years of military service, including as the 18th chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff. He now teaches leadership and public policy as a Rubenstein Fellow at Duke and serves as chairman of USA Basketball.

Hirshland, ’97, became CEO of the United States Olympic and Paralympic Committee (USOPC) in 2018 after working as chief commercial officer for the United States Golf Association.

Krzyzewski is a Naismith Hall of Fame coach, a five-time national champion at Duke, and a six-time gold medalist as head coach of the US Men’s National Team.

Silver, ’84, was appointed NBA commissioner in 2014. He presides over a global sports and media organization built around five professional sports leagues: the NBA, WNBA, NBA G League, NBA 2K League and Basketball Africa League. 

Duke political science professor Peter Feaver, director of the Program in American Grand Strategy, will moderate the discussion.