Vikings VP: The impact of sports goes beyond the game

Sports have far-reaching impact in American culture, and Minnesota Vikings Vice President of Social Impact Brett Taber says it’s important to use the platform for good.

“We’re all interconnected at the end of the day,” Taber said. “The Vikings and sports has this unique opportunity to touch people’s lives. It connects us, it unites us, whether it be a Sunday afternoon or a Saturday for a college game, fans are attached to sports. And when you have that unique connection point, it’s important for us to use that platform to make a difference.”

Taber is speaking at UMD next week as part of the Labovitz School of Business & Economics’ Distinguished Speaker series. The talk is scheduled for 4 p.m. Monday at UMD’s Weber Music Hall.

Taber said he hopes whether people are involved in sports or not, they come away inspired.

“Talking about not just the responsibility necessarily of sport organizations, teams, athletes, to engage around these topics but how that can apply to students and businesses and corporations as well. So how do they think about how they show up and give back? How do they think about the platform that they have and how they can maximize that impact?” he said.

He also said that it’s important to the Vikings to be involved around the whole state of Minnesota.

“A lot of people don’t necessarily know that Minnesota and the Minnesota Vikings was the first professional sports team to be named after a state rather than a city or a town. So we truly are the entire state’s team,” Taber said.

You can register to attend his talk online.