Daron K. Roberts, J.D.

This Is Not About Sports.

Winning is a crucible.

It is life's way of breaking down facades.

Winning teases the ego.

It watches to see who we really are once the confetti falls.

****

Here we find Odell Beckham Jr.

The majority of his teammates are celebrating a pending trip to the Super Bowl.

Odell is on the opposing team's sideline.

He's consoling a good friend (and a helluva player) whose team just fell short of punching a return trip to Los Angeles.

****

The last time I coached in an NFL game was on December 28, 2013.

I don't remember the score.

I don't remember who the leading receiver was.

But, I do remember my coordinator, Ray Horton, walking over to me in the locker room and telling me that he was proud of the job that I did that season.

****

Stats are brittle.

Connection is made of sterner stuff.

Be a human today.

I love you.

Stay In The Deep End.
#ThisIsNotAboutSports
#LinkedInSports

This Is Not About Sports.

Background

Landon Dickerson plays center for Alabama.

He's arguably the best interior lineman in the sport and the senior won the Rimington Trophy this past weekend.

In short, the guy is pretty damn good at football.

A month ago, Landon suffered a season-ending ACL injury in the SEC championship game.

Fast-foward to last night...

Landon is begging Nick Saban to play one snap of the national championship game.

Now, anybody who knows Saban (🙋🏾‍♂️) would put pretty low odds on Landon's request getting granted.

But, the head coach relented and Landon can tell his grandkids that he played in the 2020 College Football National Championship Game.

What I like about this clip is that instead of pumping his chest and waving to the crowd, he hugs his brothers.

That connection, forged in the crucible of the gridiron, will outlive the confetti.

Stay In The Deep End. #thisisnotaboutsports #football #leadership
(Video courtesy of ESPN)

This Is Not About Sports.

Over two decades ago, I spent my high school years playing under the Friday Night lights.

It is difficult to fully describe what football means in the state of Texas. And in my hometown of 12,291 people, football was king.

The two teams depicted in this video are titans of the state.

They have each won multiple state championships.

But in this semi-final round, one of them had to lose.

- The score is irrelevant.

- Which player scored the most touchdowns is irrelevant.

- Which team won is irrelevant.

What matters is the humanity we see behind the mask.

As my good friend, Fanny Fang says, “Human first, hustler second.“

Love somebody today.

Stay In The Deep End.
#thisisnotaboutsports #football #leadership
(Video courtesy of MaxxPreps)

This Is Not About Sports.

J.J. Watt announced his retirement.

He is one of his generation's most dominant defensive players, a humanitarian, and someone we all want on our team.

Let's go to the tape. 🎥

****

“Is it Wednesday, or is it Sunday?“ (0:19)

Arizona Cardinals wide receiver Rondale Moore was hard on himself for dropping the ball during practice.

J.J. validated Rondale's frustrations and gave him a game plan to improve before that Sunday's game.

Mistakes will happen.

To err is human.

How you learn from your mistakes is the difference between being good to great.

Happy retirement, J.J.

Stay In The Deep End.

#ThisIsNotAboutSports
#LinkedInSports
#Leadership

This Is Not About Sports.

First, a special shout-out to Lynnette Phillips for sharing this clip. 🙏🏾

Let's go to the 📼.

****

Mike Brown left an assistant coaching job with the Golden State Warriors to take the helm of the Sacramento Kings.

The Kings are trekking through a 16-year playoff drought. That is currently the longest postseason streak of any team in the NBA.

Mike Brown illustrates the power of what I call the CDC framework.

C - Communicate

D - Demonstrate

C - Correct and/or Celebrate

****

Communicate (:01)

Watch the way Brown talks with Terence Davis.

👀 He's looking into his eyes.

👐 He's gesturing as he speaks.

❓ He's asking whether Davis understands

Now, focus on Davis.

Watch his body language.

His body language screams “I'm coachable.“

****

Demonstrate (:06)

Transactional leaders rest on communication.

Transformational leaders rely on demonstration.

Brown is unwilling to “hope“ Davis gets his coaching point.

No, he shows him what he wants to see.

This is the mark of a leader who's invested in a player's growth.

I don't care if you sell insurance or run a bakery, guiding your team members in this way will make a difference.

****

Celebration (:14)

I was speaking to a corporate audience last Wednesday and a woman asked me about the traits that I see from winning teams.

Something hit me: The winning teams I've been around look for reasons to celebrate.

They are insurgents against monotony.

When a teammate does something well, they coalesce in celebration.

And conversely, when a team member is down, they instigate support rather than shame.

****

I want to be clear: Leadership is an inefficient practice by design.

Management focuses on efficiency (i.e., What actions will yield the greatest impact for the least effort and resources?)

Leadership is a contact sport.

It calls for getting on the floor and toughing it out with your people.

Stay In The Deep End.
#ThisIsNotAboutSports
#LinkedInSports
#NBA
#Leadership

THIS IS NOT ABOUT SPORTS™

Jameis Winston was selected as the number one overall pick in the 2015 NFL Draft by the Tampa Bay Buccaneers.

He owns a Heisman.

Today, he's a backup quarterback on the New Orleans Saints.

Let's go to the tape. 🎥

****

Here's a question for you: Is Winston acting like a bitter quarterback?

This video was recorded by ESPN.

We see Jameis making contact with every trainer, coach, player, equipment manager, in the Saints organization before going into the locker room.

Allegedly, he's been doing this since his days at Florida State and I attached a tweet from his former teammate, Gerald McCoy, verifying that what you are watching was Jameis' routine while he was playing for Tampa Bay.

Now let's be clear about something...

Jameis Winston believes he is a starting quarterback.

But his status on the depth chart does not affect his value proposition to the team.

****

Some of you are bitter.

📈 You thought you deserved the promotion.

💰 You thought you deserved the pay raise.

And maybe you're right.

Maybe your manager or company screwed you over.

But here's the more important question: Who are you without the ball?

Is your identity tied to a LinkedIn profile header or pay stub?

Or can you be the same person whether you're at the top or fighting for survival?

Stay In The Deep End.
#ThisIsNotAboutSports
#LinkedInSports

This Is Not About Sports.

Everybody celebrates differently.

Gardner Minshew didn't practice with the team during training camp.

He hadn't taken any first team reps until Wednesday.

But he found himself as the started on Sunday.

****

According to Bleeding Green Nation (gotta love the name), Minshew “finished 20-for-25 for 242 yards, two touchdowns, no INTs and a 133.7 passer rating“ in a win over the New York Jets.

Clearly, this was an emotional win for a guy who went from being “the guy“ in Jacksonville to backup in Philly.

Gardner's dad tries to attend every single game, even though he knows his son is unlikely to play.

And it's clear they have a connection. I can only imagine the late night phone calls these two have had as a father attempts to encourage his son.

****

I talk about the people in your corner quite a bit. During a week that I am dealing with the death of a first cousin, I just want to remind you once again that we only get one chance to do this thing we call life.

Do it with the people who matter.

(Let's try something fun! Tag somebody in your corner.👇🏾)

Stay In The Deep End.
#thisisnotaboutsports

I cried when I got the news.

It's been that kind of year.

Today I was named #1 in the #LinkedInTopVoices in Sports category.

I'm honored to be in the company of men and women that I admire and learn from on a daily basis.

LinkedIn changed my life.

My journey has been nonlinear to say the least - going from HLS to the sidelines of the NFL.

After leaving the coaching world, I yearned for a way to re-engage humans who were committed to becoming the best versions of themselves.

Not only have I secured partnerships for my business through LinkedIn, but I've engendered relationships that exist beyond the platform.

Here's an example: Last December, I posted to LinkedIn that I would be in Portland, Oregon and offered to host a meet-up.

Six members of my extended LinkedIn family took me up on the offer and we spent an evening drinking vino and sharing our trials and tribulations as parents, partners and entrepreneurs.

LinkedIn has helped me to appear on podcasts, join boards and secure a book writing contract.

I sincerely thank all of you who have engaged with my posts.

As I'm watching sports and striving to be a good husband, father and entrepreneur - I think of you.

🙏🏾

Stay In The Deep End.
#ThisIsNotAboutSports
(link to full list in comments 👇🏾)

This Is Not About Sports.

Brady (👴🏻) vs. Mahomes (🧑🏽)

⏳
Age

Brady: 43
Mahomes: 25

🇺🇸
U.S. President at Birth

Brady: Carter
Mahomes: Clinton

🎙️
Draft Pick #

Brady: 199
Mahomes: 10

Key Takeaway: You're neither too old nor too young.

You can do whatever the hell you want to do in this life.

Stay In The Deep End. #thisisnotaboutsports

If I'm slow to respond to your text or email, don't take it personally.

Relax...🧘🏾‍♂️

I'm not ignoring you.

I'm paying attention to them.

Stay In The Deep End.

This Is Not About Sports.

Let's go to the tape. 🎥

****

“I Had A Rough Year“ (:14)

Did anyone else have a rough 2022?

🙋🏾‍♂️

Frank Clark is a public figure so when he faces adversity, it lands on the front page of the sports section or gets featured on ESPN.

He was suspended for two games this season due to an off the field incident.

And five years ago, his father (and three other family members) were killed in a fire.

But here he is...standing under confetti for the second time in four years.

I've watched this clip eight times (a special “thank you“ goes out to my bride for putting up with my late night clips viewing).

Aside from the tears, you can feel Frank's heart in this clip. He's reflecting on all that has transpired. He's filled with gratitude.

There are some people around us who are going through things.

They're dealing with debris left by life's quakes.

While they're pain may never show up on your radar, just be kind.

Be kind.

****

“My Teammates Never Lost Faith In Me. I'm Extremely Thankful.“ (:22)

Some people are “joy riders“.

They enjoy the sunny side of the trip...🌞

And they're also the first to hit the eject button when the sky darkens. 👋

Frank's words encourage us to examine our relationships. What kind of humans are we when the odds aren't in our favor?

Who are we when the scoreboard leans the other way?

The people in your corner need you to hold the line.

And as for the folks in your circle...most of them are merely chasing confetti.

****

“It Makes Sense Now“ (:54)

In real-time, it's difficult to make sense of what we see.

Injuries, score deficits and suspensions (I'm not talking about sports here) will put our backs against the ropes.

I want to encourage you to keep going.

It ain't got to look pretty.

Forget about the style points.

Just keep putting one foot in front of the other and hold your head to the sky.

Stay In The Deep End.
#ThisIsNotAboutSports
#LinkedInSports
#SuperBowl
#NFL

Google Photos just reminded me that it has been 13 years since I graduated from Harvard Law School.

And remember, it all began with four years of being wait-listed.
⁣⁣
Stay the course.

The work continues. 👊🏾⁣⁣
⁣⁣
Stay In The Deep End.

- Didn't pass 3rd grade Gifted and Talented test
- Lost Truman Scholarship in the final round
- Waitlisted by my top law school choice four years in a row
- Lost Harvard Law Class President election
- Didn't pass bar exam
- Rejected from 31 NFL teams
- Fired from two coaching jobs

And you know what, I'm still alive.

Never let your past hold you future hostage.

Your tests are the building blocks of a compelling testimony.

Stay In The Deep End.